OCTOBER 9 — As we approach the tabling of Budget 2026 Malaysia, much of the public conversation revolves around inflation control, economic resilience and targeted subsidies. Yet, beneath these big-ticket issues lie quieter struggles — the daily realities of single mothers raising children with limited or no financial support. If the government is serious about building a fair and inclusive Malaysia, this year’s Budget must do more than offer temporary relief. It must build structures that ensure long-term protection for vulnerable families.
Single mothers are the quiet backbone
Across Malaysia, single mothers carry the weight of two roles — caregiver and breadwinner — often on precarious incomes. Many works in informal or low-wage sectors with minimal job security and limited social protection. Rising living costs only make this harder. Every ringgit counts when it comes to paying rent, feeding children, covering transport costs and ensuring access to education and healthcare.
While cash aid programmes provide short-term help, they do not address the root cause of financial instability in many single-mother households — the chronic non-payment of child maintenance by the other parent. Under both civil and Syariah law, parents have a legal duty to provide financial support for their children. But in reality, enforcement remains weak, fragmented and inaccessible to those who need it most.
The cost of non-payment is carried by children
When maintenance is not paid, it is children who suffer the consequences. It means interrupted schooling, poor nutrition, inadequate housing and limited access to basic healthcare. For mothers, it means working multiple jobs or falling into debt just to survive. The emotional and economic toll of this is immense, and yet it is largely invisible in policy conversations.
Current enforcement mechanisms require single mothers to return to court repeatedly to chase arrears. The process is slow, costly and emotionally draining. Many give up altogether. This is not because the law is silent — but because the system is failing them.
A structural solution: National Child Support Agency
Budget 2026 is the perfect opportunity for the government to address this gap through the establishment of a National Child Support Agency (NCSA). This body should be mandated to calculate, collect and enforce child maintenance on behalf of children. Instead of forcing single mothers to navigate complex legal processes, the state can play a proactive role in ensuring that children receive what is legally owed to them.
Such an agency would:
- Ensure consistent payments – guaranteeing that maintenance is received regularly, without delays or defaults.
- Enforce compliance effectively – through administrative tools such as automatic deductions, garnishments or other lawful means.
- Reduce poverty and inequality – by ensuring children grow up with the financial stability they deserve.
- Ease pressure on welfare systems – as consistent child support reduces long-term dependence on state assistance.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have successfully implemented similar models, proving that child support enforcement is not only possible but transformative.
An investment in children’s future
Establishing the NCSA should not be seen as an expense but as a strategic investment. By guaranteeing children’s rights to financial support, the government can reduce welfare dependency in the long term, promote shared parental responsibility and support women’s economic participation.
To make this work, Budget 2026 should allocate funding to:
- Develop a legal and institutional framework for the agency
- Create a centralised digital payment and enforcement system
- Recruit and train enforcement officers and support staff
- Establish a temporary advance fund to ensure uninterrupted child support payments when one parent defaults.
Complementing existing social assistance
The NCSA should not replace welfare aid but complement it. Welfare schemes provide critical relief, but they are not designed to replace a parent’s legal duty to support their child. A robust child support mechanism will ensure that single mothers are not left to carry this burden alone and that children are not forced to grow up in unnecessary hardship.
A budget that reflects our priorities
If Budget 2026 is to be truly inclusive, it must go beyond headline economic measures. It must reflect a commitment to strengthening families, protecting children and supporting those who shoulder the greatest burdens. Single mothers are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a system that works — one that upholds the law and protects their children’s future.
Establishing a National Child Support Agency is not just a policy recommendation. It is a statement about who we are as a society and how much we value the dignity of mothers and the rights of children. Budgets are not merely about numbers. They are about priorities. Let us make sure those priorities include single mothers and their children.
* The writer is the Advocacy, Legal Services and Research Manager with SIS Forum (Malaysia). She is a senior non-practising advocate and solicitor.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
