Social Worker’s Act to boost quality of social welfare services
PUTRAJAYA: The Social Worker’s Act will be introduced to ensure the competency and professionalism of social workers in carrying out work in various fields, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.
She said the Act has been drafted with consideration of the views of stakeholders including the media before it was passed in Parliament.
“The Act had been proposed in 2010 but received objections from various parties. Nevertheless, we should be open to remarks and improve on our ideas.
“We want this Act to be faultless when tabled as it can boost the capacity and quality of social welfare services as a whole,” she told reporters after attending the ministry’s monthly assembly here.
Rohani commented that the Destitute Persons Act 1977 and the Domestic Violence Act 1994 were also in need of amendments to improve aid given to victims of domestic violence and those who are destitute.
“For instance, there are increasingly many homeless people and victims of aggression who do not receive immediate protection due to the timeconsuming court process.
“Thus, through the amendment, it will enable the situation to be rectified and better protection will be provided to the target groups,” she explained.
Meanwhile, in another incident, Rohani said the police and the ministry were working together to check the validity of a picture made viral yesterday of three children who were tied and believed to be abused in a nursery in Bangi.
“The ministry has sent a protection officer to investigate the matter. The police has taken statements from the nursery operator and the parents of the children. Let the police complete their investigation. I am sure that binding the children is not a standard nursery procedure,” she said. — Bernama
We want this Act to be faultless when tabled as it can boost the capacity and quality of social welfare services as a whole. Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, Women, Family and Community Development Minister