KUALA LUMPUR – A post-maternity allowance will be introduced to support women’s participation in the workforce, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced today.
The allowance will be implemented through amendments to the Employment Insurance System Act 2017, providing additional financial support to mothers who require extra time following their statutory maternity leave.
“The benefit will be set at 80 per cent of the assumed monthly wage for insured female employees and will be paid as a one-off,” Anwar said.
The initiative is expected to assist more than 132,000 female workers nationwide.
“Female labour force participation rates have slightly declined. We studied the 25 to 39 age cohort, and those aged 25-29 are most affected due to the commitments of motherhood.
“The rationale is that we do not want, as has happened in the past, mothers to feel forced to quit and leave the workforce.
“This allowance is financial support for additional leave of up to 30 days per month taken after the standard 98-day maternity leave,” he added during his speech at the national Labour Day celebration today.
Under the Employment Act 1955, all female employees in Malaysia are entitled to 98 consecutive days of maternity leave, inclusive of rest days and public holidays.
Female workers are also eligible for maternity allowances provided they have worked at least 90 days in the nine months preceding childbirth, at least one day in the four months before delivery, and have fewer than five living children. – May 1, 2026