Malaysian parents vent online as workplaces deny MC for sick kids, forcing them to use emergency leave (EL) to care for their children.
A recent workplace reminder claiming that employees cannot take medical leave (MC) just to “jaga anak” has sent Malaysian social media into a frenzy, dividing parents, employers, and HR professionals.
“No such thing as MC (medical certificate) specifically for “jaga anak”.
“If needed, please take EL (emergency leave),” aadilamzln wrote on Threads.
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According to common HR practice, medical leave is for an employee’s own health condition, not their dependents, meaning parents are often forced to use Emergency Leave (EL) or annual leave instead.
The post quickly went viral as Malaysian parents voiced frustration over the lack of family-friendly work policies, especially when childcare centres require parents to take their children home immediately if they show symptoms of fever, flu, or hand-foot-mouth disease.
Some argued that the policy is outdated and fails to reflect modern parenting realities, especially for dual-income households.
Others, however, pointed out that the rule isn’t new — and that MC has always been tied to an individual’s medical diagnosis, not caregiving duties.
“I wish Malaysia would have this law where MC can be used to take care of sick spouse, children or any dependent. When I was working in NZ they had this law,” wnlaila shared.
“We have Childcare Leave (CCL) with and without MC in Singapore. So if nak jaga anak can just take CCL without MC,” nabmax_ said.
“That’s why my annual leave runs out so quickly. 🥲 End up not being able to use it properly, always have to use EL because my child is sick,” ndiahismail lamented.
“Depends on the company policy. At my workplace, if you want to take leave to care for a child — especially if they’re sick — they’ll reject MC. Same goes for taking care of parents,” zfry_hzln commented.
“Exactly… unless you’re taking care of a sick child and it makes you unwell or extremely tired, then MC is justified. Like me, if I barely sleep while monitoring my child, I can get a fever too. If I’m healthy, I wouldn’t feel right taking MC, so I just use EL instead,” shikinhazmi opined.
