She said maternity leave is to ensure both baby and mother spend bonding time together and that the baby gets exclusive breastfeeding.

“Maternity leave is not for holiday or fun, it is really for exclusive breastfeeding. Doctors always encourage mothers to provide their babies exclusive breastfeeding for six months.

“The myth is that if given maternity leave, the women will abuse it, they will keep having children. That’s a myth,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the National Convention of Women and Family 2019 here today.

Among the incentives announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in the 2020 Budget  is a review of the Employment Act 1955 to increase maternity leave from 60 days to 90 days effective 2021.

Yeoh said that when hiring women, employers should provide support infrastructure such as childcare and maternity leave.

“What women bring to the workforce, to this nation’s economy, cannot be valued in how much you’re going to lose in those months because the woman is at home having maternity leave.

“This 90-day leave that women are asking for is really basic, and when babies are with their mothers for the first three months, there will be less incidences of babies choking on milk,” she said.

On another matter, Yeoh said the ministry has agreed to implement regular stakeholders’ meetings at the federal, state and district levels to address issues of abuse and violence against women.

She said the committees would comprise police personnel, the executive councillor for women in the state and elected representatives in the district.

“Sometimes, we hear of cases but they are not reported. With these multi-stakeholders’ meetings, we will gather the details in a more systematic manner,” she said.