MP SPEAKS | As the PKR spokespersons for the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry, we humbly suggest that the federal government reorients its focus on protecting and preserving the dignity and well-being of women, children, the elderly, the differently-abled, the destitute, victims of domestic violence and abuse and disaster victims - through the re-establishment of the ministry as a frontline ministry.

Considering that the ministry must devise ways to protect female-headed households, children susceptible to predatory elements, an ageing Malaysian population, and other vulnerable pockets of society - we, therefore, argue that the empowerment of such groups must include the empowerment of the ministry.

Social protection in a pandemic

Like other governments around the world, Malaysia saw to it that one-off cash disbursements during this coronavirus outbreak are available to households that earned below a certain level. However, the vulnerability in a pandemic is defined not only by one’s state of finances but also one’s accessibility to social protection...