SIBU: Government agencies still without a taska (childcare centre) in their premises have until Jan 1 next year to implement this.
Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Hannah Yeoh said the government agencies should not depend on grants from the ministry in order to do so.
She stressed the importance of such childcare centres for the benefit of staff with children aged four and below.
“There are 541 agencies without childcare centres. They should not wait for us for the grants to start theirs. They have their own budget. They have to prioritise it (childcare),” she said at the opening of Sibu Hospital Taska, which is the first hospital in the country to have one, here yesterday.
Yeoh said the directors of these government agencies should set aside money from their budgets for this purpose.
“Our grants are just to help kick-start, especially the hospital taska,” she reiterated.
“From our audit, only 35 percent or 295 of them (government agencies) have taska and 65percent of them (541) do not.
“After RM10 million was allocated in the 2019 national budget for taska in government agencies, we have received 101 applications nationwide. We have approved 66 up to now,” said Yeoh.
Of the 66, 19 are in government hospitals, another 18 are in the police, fire rescue, immigration and prison departments, and institutions for former prisoners while the rest are in other agencies.
Childcare centres, she said, were vital as, among others, they enable staff to have a peace of mind, knowing that they have a proper place for their children.
“There are only 54 percent of women at work compare to 80 percent men. We need to have sufficient facilities so that women (after childbirth) can go back to work,” she said.
At the ceremony, Yeoh also presented RM80,000 to Sibu Hospital Taska, RM100,000 to UiTM Samarahan, RM195,000 to the State Welfare Department and RM140,000 to Limbang Prison Taska.
