EXCERPTS

In recent months, organisations such as CIMB Bank and Nestlé Malaysia have made headlines for new/improved schemes for parents – be it child care leave, paternity leave or maternity leave. In the backdrop of these developments, Malaysia has ranked in 31st place out of 193 countries on Money Guru’s Best Places to be a parent report.

Singapore took the 4th spot, while Norway, Iceland and Germany led the way in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The other top countries in Asia are Japan (17th), Thailand (22nd) and the South Korea (30th).

In terms of maternity time off, working parents in Malaysia have less than 14 weeks off, similar to Singapore. However, the average organisation in Malaysia did not provide paid paternity time off for fathers.

On a positive note, job protection was guaranteed both in Malaysia and Singapore throughout one’s maternity leave.