“That was not sufficient, so I decided to take annual leave to be with my wife and newborn son,” he told FMT Business.

In Malaysia, paternity or parental leave was not provided for under the law until only recently. As a result, fathers like Tan are left with little choice but to use up their annual leave if they want to spend time with their wife and to bond with their newborn.

Some companies do offer a few days of paid leave to the father, albeit quite insufficient.

But Volvo Car Malaysia is setting a new standard under its Family Bond initiative. The Swedish carmaker has introduced a 24-week parental leave for new parents.

Every employee is entitled to the additional six months of paid leave that they can utilise within the first three years after their child is born. On those leave days, they would be entitled to 80% of their salaries.

For Veena Menon, customer relationship manager at Volvo Car, it means giving both parents the opportunity to play an equal role in their child’s upbringing.

“Both father and mother should be equally responsible for nurturing their child. In fact the conversation on choosing between career and family should never have started, for the woman, especially,” she told FMT Business.

National Council of Women’s Organisations Malaysia (NCWO) secretary-general Sabariah Baharun said the long leave for the father would give the mother time to relax and not feel overwhelmed by the task of taking care of her baby.

“The company has shown through its policy that it recognises the importance of the role each parent plays. This is shared responsibility,” she told FMT Business.

In countries where parental leave is legislated, the Nordic countries have the most generous terms.

For instance in Finland, both father and mother get 164 days of paid leave each. A single parent gets to go off for twice as long.

In Iceland, both parents get five months each, plus an additional two months that they can split between themselves.

In comparison, Malaysia is a long way behind but there is little to suggest that it will change anytime soon.

In March, an amendment to the Employment Act gave new fathers seven days of paid leave. Before that, it was three days, and only for civil servants. Private sector employees got theirs at the discretion of the employers.

Another amendment to the same act extended maternity leave from 60 days to 98 days for women who work in the private sector. For those in the civil service, it was extended to 90 days.

There is no provision for parental leave.

Businesses, already saddled with the additional leave days for mothers, are reluctant to grant fathers the same privilege.

As Small and Medium Enterprises Association Malaysia (Samenta) chairman William Ng pointed out, not every industry can afford to give 24 weeks of parental leave.

“As it is, SMEs are already juggling with very thin margins, some down to single digits,” he told FMT Business.

For Veena, the conversation on choosing between career and family should never have started.

Tan, who now has two children, said he could have done with more time to build a bond with his sons.

“I could have been more involved in taking care of the children. Such hands-on engagement can set a pattern that will live long after the 24-week break ends,” he said.

Unfortunately for fathers like him, it could be a long while more before they get to spend an extended length of time with their newborn.