I attended a Mother’s Day Celebration that was held in Buntong earlier today, which falls within my larger parliamentary constituency of Ipoh Barat. I was happy to host some 100 mothers from various backgrounds as we gathered to show our appreciation to them. Motherhood is an incredible journey of selflessness as mothers dedicate their entire lives nurturing and raising their children and families. 

At our celebration today, I shared the following with the mothers present whom we celebrated––

Health. A healthy lifestyle is cornerstone to living a long, quality, and productive life. Without health, we are nothing. It is critical to progress and contribute to society. Mothers therefore play a vital role in cultivating and maintaining a healthy living for their children. This education must start from young. I encouraged all mothers to promote a healthy living to their children and families. This is for their own well-being. 

Towards this end, I shared with them that we cannot be consistently reliant on doctors to advise us on our health. Instead, we must be proactive and take basic steps to look after our own health. This starts by simply controlling what we eat. Promoting and cooking healthy food at home, in correct portions, is a good start. Further, as a family unit, families must engage in physical sports and spiritual activities. Apart from exercising, this also strengthens familial ties and promotes unity in the family.

There must be an adoption of a preventive mindset. To prevent illness from the start, instead of addressing the problem once there is an illness. There cannot be a mindset of there is a drug for any illness that may come later in life. This will lead to eventual dependency or addiction to drugs that will worsen health. Rather, if mothers can cultivate in the minds of their children from young a mindset of preventing illness, this is sure to minimise the chances and/or impact of illness in life later. 

Naturally, sickness and death, like taxes, are a sure part of life. We cannot run away from them. However, by taking these steps, we can most certainly empower our younger generation to live longer and more productive lives. 

Strengthen the family unit. I advised the mothers to be close to their children and other family members and to communicate with them. Communicating is an important tool to improve cohesion and love in the family. This includes communicating grievances, which is a healthy way to reduce stress –– another major cause of certain illness. Promoting love and affection in the family will lessen stress and reduce burdens. It acts as stress relief. 

Mental Capacity Act. I also took the opportunity to share about a new legislation that the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department (“BHEUU”) is working on at present, proposed to be named the Mental Capacity Act. 

⁠⁠According to the United Nations, there are three categories of ageing: an ageing society, an aged society, and a super-aged society, defined by the population aged 65 and above reaching 7%, 14%, and 20%, respectively.

Malaysia is currently an ageing nation. The latest estimates from DOSM show that the proportion of the population aged 65 and over increased from 7.2% in 2022 to 7.4% in 2023, totaling 2.5 million people. This indicates that Malaysia is experiencing population ageing.

Additionally, a 2020 World Bank study projected that by 2044, at least 14% of the Malaysian population will be aged above 65, transitioning Malaysia to an aged nation. This age group is expected to exceed 20% of the population by 2056, thus categorizing Malaysia as a super-aged nation.

To address this, there is an urgent need to formulate laws and policies to cater to the legal needs of an ageing, aged and super aged nation. BHEUU has begun this effort by proposing the enacting of a Mental Capacity Act for Malaysia. 

This proposed legislation seeks to allow individuals to make early preparations in advance for the management of their affairs, such as advance medical directives, who may make legal decisions on their behalf, management of their property, using a lasting power of attorney, in the event they ever become mentally incapacitated at any time in the future. 

These decisions can be made by the person in advance, before becoming mentally incapacitated. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Singapore have enacted similar legislation in 2005 and 2008, respectively. 

⁠Hence, if a person is for example, suffering from Alzheimer’s, or if they have a child who is autistic or mentally incapacitated and they would like to plan for the management of the child’s affairs in the future, they will be able to do so through a lasting power of attorney under the provisions of the new Mental Capacity Act. 

This new legislation will indeed be a groundbreaking legal instrument to assist in the care and management of those who are mentally incapacitated. 

As we talk about this legislation, it is apposite to draw a comparison to the Mental Health Act 2001 which Malaysia has at present. The Mental Health Act 2001 only allows for the court to set up a committee to look after the affairs and estate of a person with a mental disorder AFTER the person is already mentally disordered. It hence deprives the person of the right to plan of his choice for his affairs in the future.

⁠Moving forward, a workshop and engagement session will be held this Tuesday will all relevant stakeholders to discuss several issues related to this new legislation that must be ironed out before policy decisions can be made in this regard. This includes identifying policy perimeters and potential challenges that must be overcome in enacting this new legislation. 

After the engagement session is held, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department will then identify the policy parameters of the new legislation and decide what further engagements are needed with other stakeholders. Upon which, a policy paper will be tabled in Cabinet to obtain policy approval before the drafting of the legislation can begin. 

⁠This new proposed legislation is much needed to address various issues that are arising, and that will arise in the future, in an ageing, aged and super-aged society. As such, we are committed to ensure the tabling of this legislation in Parliament.