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graphic cartoon of a daughter accompanied by her father visting her mother in a hospital

When Love Becomes Compulsion: Malaysia's Proposed Filial Piety Law

Jeypraba Veerapan

Law student by day, cat-tormentor by night, Jey's love for bad puns and good sleep is matched only by her affection for her three feline companions.

Would you take care of your parents when they are old? Rolling your eyes, you might be thinking, duh, of course I will. As Malaysians, many of us were brought up with traditional values emphasising filial piety. Customary Malaysian values of filial piety have always dictated that adults should care for their ageing parents, but what happens when the government proposes a filial piety law? Will it be a welcome reminder of cultural values, or will it lead to tension between parents and their children?

Malaysia’s Mooted Filial Piety Law

A new law aimed at protecting senior citizens is on the books for Malaysia. According to the Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Aiman Athirah Sabu, a Senior Citizens Bill is slated to be tabled in Parliament in 2024. The Bill will provide, among others, provisions for legal action and punishments for adult children who refuse to be responsible for their parents.

The idea for a filial piety law to be enacted in Malaysia was first mulled ten years ago but was put on the back burner until now. In recent years, proponents of the law have forwarded various arguments to revive it. According to the Alliance for Safe Community Chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, “the time is ripe” to revisit this law following reports of thousands of senior citizens abandoned in hospitals by their families in Malaysia. This sentiment is echoed by constitutional expert Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, who said that Malaysia should follow Singapore’s approach in making it legal for parents to require their children to pay for their maintenance. He argues that there is nothing wrong with forcing people to take care of those who had earlier taken care of them when they were young. Referring to Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution, which states that “all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law”, Shad contends that we need to rethink our concept of human rights instead of just focusing on free speech and such. “What Singapore has done in restoring ancient cultural values of caring for one’s parents is commendable,” he said.

Malaysia is on a fast track towards becoming an ageing nation, and steps must be taken to protect the welfare of the elderly, but is enacting a filial piety law a step in the right direction? On one hand, such a law could provide a safety net for the elderly when they cannot sustain themselves but their children are financially able to support them. Having a filial piety law in place could positively impact elder abuse and can be applied when family support breaks down. On the other hand, a filial piety law risks affecting family harmony when reluctant children are compelled by the law to support their parents. It may be undesirable to some that the government intervenes with personal and family life. Needless to say, the Malaysian government faces an uphill battle in drafting a comprehensive Senior Citizens Bill, which should be fair to both parents and children. However, Malaysia has the opportunity to learn from countries like Singapore and China which have implemented such laws years earlier.

Lessons from Abroad

In Singapore, the Maintenance of Parents Act 1995 enables the elderly over the age of 60 to file claims against their children for not providing for their welfare. In 2021, a workgroup was set up to review the Act. It conducted public consultations involving more than 1,000 respondents, and one of its key findings is that almost all of the respondents believed there is a need to protect people who had been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents during childhood. Three out of four respondents agreed that in such cases, the parent should be prohibited from filing maintenance claims. According to a member of the workgroup and Singapore MP, Murali Pillai, it would be difficult to obtain statistics of cases where the law has been unfairly used against children, but he disclosed that the workgroup had encountered such cases.

In China, the Law of Protection of Rights and Interests of Elderly People 2013 mandates adult children to regularly visit and emotionally support their parents. This law has been criticised for being too general and vague in nature, and failing to effectively protect the elderly parents’ rights. “Regular visits” was not adequately defined by the statute and punishments were not outlined in the national law.  Additionally, parents, more often than not, would be reluctant to commence a lawsuit against their children either to preserve family harmony or to save face. This severely cripples the statute’s ability to prevent elderly neglect and abuse.

How We Can Make It Work

Considering that Malaysia is rapidly becoming an ageing nation coupled with an increase in the number of elderly neglect cases in Malaysia, a legislation aimed at safeguarding the welfare of our senior citizens is timely and necessary. However, a filial piety law could end up being toothless if proper research and studies are not conducted on the experience of other countries in implementing such a law. In addition to enacting a comprehensive filial piety law, the Malaysian government should also explore other ways to encourage family support for elderly parents. For example, Malaysia could emulate Hong Kong’s practice of providing tax deductions and allowances to persons who give support to a parent or grandparent. Other than that, prohibiting children from inheriting their parents’ property if they do not support their parents or abandon their parents before their parents’ death is also an idea worth exploring.

 

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