Authorities ramp up surprise inspections on illegal childcare centres nationwide, urging community help to report unregistered operators.
PUTRAJAYA: Childcare centres nationwide will face increased surprise inspections as authorities intensify efforts to identify and act against illegal operators, said Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
The Women, Family and Community Development Minister said enforcement teams from the Welfare Department (JKM) are already conducting spot checks following recurring cases involving child abuse, neglect and safety concerns.
She said immediate action would be taken against operators found running unregistered childcare facilities, including closure orders.
“Even now our JKM is going down and doing surprise visits to make sure all are registered.
“Once they discover (unregistered centres), they will take action immediately and even ask them to close down,” she told reporters after officiating the A Journey of Malaysia’s Participation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child event.
However, Nancy acknowledged that some operators continue to escape detection because authorities are not always aware of their existence unless information is received from the public.
She stressed that enforcement efforts cannot rely solely on government agencies and called for greater community involvement in identifying illegal childcare activities.
“We also depend on information from the community, including neighbours to detect illegal operations that may otherwise go unnoticed.
“This is a whole-of-community approach. We need that support,” she said.
Nancy added that while systems are available for parents to verify whether childcare centres are properly registered, some families may unknowingly place their children in unlicensed facilities because the premises appear safe and legitimate.
“But some parents may forget to check because they are focused on finding a safe place to send their children.
“When they go there, it looks like a safe place, so this creates a dilemma for parents. But on our part, it is an ongoing process for us to keep going down and do surprise visits,” she said.
The remarks came following a recent case involving the death of a seven-month-old baby boy who was under the care of a babysitter in Bandar Sri Sendayan, Seremban.
According to reports, post-mortem findings indicated neck compression as the cause of death, while additional laboratory tests remain pending.
Police reportedly said the infant had been under the care of a 38-year-old babysitter since December 2025 and was believed to have been put to sleep in a swing with a silicone pacifier in his mouth on the day of the incident.
The babysitter has been remanded for six days to assist investigations under the Child Act 2001 and was reported to have been operating without registration with JKM.
