Twentytwo13

Subang MP Wong Chen believes Madani government has political will to table Social Work Profession Bill

The Social Work Profession Bill has been in the works for over a decade. Despite repeated calls for it to be tabled in Parliament by various quarters, there is no concrete indication that it will happen anytime soon.

However, Subang MP Wong Chen believes strong political will exists within the current government to push for the Bill, citing the recent Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH) scandal as the reason there needs to be a law to regulate social workers.

“(The Social Work Profession Bill) is not an unnecessary law. It will professionalise the entire body,” Wong said during a roundtable session titled ‘Social Work in Malaysia: The Bill and Its Impact’ on Oct 3.

“I can’t imagine how lawyers can operate without the Bar Council, architects not having PAM (the Malaysian Institute of Architects), engineers the Board of Engineers Malaysia, or accountants without ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).”

He said the analogy highlights the importance of a regulatory body for social workers as it would address abuses, boost consumer confidence, and unify social work practitioners, with potential economic benefits through enhanced healthcare and social care services.

Wong said a grant of RM2-5 million would be enough to start a regulatory body for social workers in Malaysia.

Wong mentioned he had discussions on the matter with Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“After talking about the numbers, we said we could start with an RM2 million grant, while RM5 million would be comfortable,” he said.

“Put that into context, the national budget is RM400 billion. We are asking for only 0.005 per cent. I believe money won’t be an issue.”

With the current situation – the GISBH scandal and the suffering of the children – there is a strong political will to move forward.

“I don’t see any real obstacles to the legislative process of creating a professional body. The government also needs to think of the economic spillover,” said Wong.

On March 6, Nancy said her ministry was targeting to table the Bill this year after sorting out several issues, including the setting up of an independent body to regulate social workers.

Wong also pointed out that many children across the country required care and protection, including intervention from social workers.

In May, Nancy’s ministry identified 3,957 children across the country who required care and protection due to various cases from January to May, this year.

Wong said that equates to nearly 10,000 cases a year, but warned that many cases go unreported, and that the figure could be as high as 100,000.

“There is a personal socioeconomic cost if we fail to intervene at an early stage of a child’s life – whether an infant, or up to 18 years old – that could result in them having a much more difficult time for the next 60 to 80 years,” he said.

“The government has calculated that the socioeconomic loss is in the billions. So, we need professionally trained social workers to be in the system,” Wong said.

Malaysia continues to lag behind its regional neighbours in recognising social work as a profession.

Countries like the Philippines (since 1965), Singapore (2009), Thailand (2013), and Indonesia (2019) have enacted laws and policies to professionalise social work, enhancing support for their social service workforce.

Malaysia’s social worker-to-population ratio stands at 1:8,576, far behind Singapore’s 1:3,448 and Australia’s 1:1,040.