Social workers bill to be tabled in Cabinet
BANGI: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Social Workers Profession Bill, that was first mooted in 2012, will be tabled in the Cabinet in a month.
“The bill is in its final stages and the Attorney-General Chambers will finalise everything soon.
“I will make sure the bill is presented in the Cabinet meeting within a month,” Ahmad Zahid told a press conference after he officiated at the National Welfare Month event at the Bangi Industrial Training and Recovery Centre.
The bill aims to enhance the delivery of social work interventions, as well as setting a standard and provide training for the country’s social workers.
However, Ahmad Zahid could not ascertain when the bill would be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
On why it took the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry five years to finish the draft, Ahmad Zahid said the bill needed to be very comprehensive and relevant in the long run.
“There might be issues from the legal aspect, but we have to make sure that the bill we are going to present has taken every aspect into account.
“We need to make sure the bill will remain valid for up to 50 years. So, we need to study the possible social problems that we are going to face. It’s not like we want that problem to arise, but it is good for us to be prepared.”
“Malaysia will be an ageing population country in 2030. This means about 15% of the citizens would be 60 years and above.
“We have about twelve years to be prepared and I will make sure this bill is tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, then Dewan Negara, before it is gazzeted as a law,” he said. – by Aiezat Fadzell