Five Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians, four of them male, brought their babies to Parliament today in a bid to raise awareness about the lack of childcare centres in government agencies, especially in Parliament House.

There is currently no childcare centre in Parliament, and DAP’s Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching brought her two-month-old baby Eger to Parliament today to reinforce her appeal for the government to build more childcare centres in the public sector.

Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim ( left in photo ), Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen, Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik and Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari, all young fathers, followed suit and accompanied Teo during the press conference.

“Sometimes, Parliament convenes until late night and it is very difficult for us to leave our babies with the babysitter that late in the night,” Teo said.

This is not the first time Teo has brought her infant to the Parliament to focus on this matter.

In 2012, she brought her first baby,  Jinger, to Parliament and held a similar press conference.

However, only 19 childcare centres were added in the public sector in 2012 and 2013, she said.

"At this rate, it will be 50 years before we have a childcare centre in all government agencies," Teo added.

Sim said at the same press conference that the government was losing some RM36 billion in extra income by not stressing on a "care economy."