GOVERNMENT agencies must prioritise the setting up of daycare centres for children of their staff by doing away with unnecessary spending, said Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.

Yeoh said government agencies have been told to relook their existing budget to resolve the financial constrains in complying with the new directive, which makes it compulsory for all government offices to have a daycare centre by January next year.

“Until and unless we push it down their throat that this must be a priority because it involves safety of children, and children are our asset, it’s not going to happen,” she told reporters after attending the Life At Work 2018 initiative in Damansara.

“I still see open houses and for me it’s very simple, if we have money for open house, we need to have money for child care.

“Of course people say open house is not that expensive but this is where I see if you make something your priority, it will happen,” she said in response to questions on whether or not government agencies would have enough money allocated to them in the budget to come out with child care initiatives.

Yeoh said the government was responsible to set an example to the private sector to follow suit.

“If we fail to do it, we lose the authority to tell people outside to do it.

“Why we are so bold to say by January 1 you must have childcare facilities? It is because the circular we are relying on is not a new circular, it has been there since 1990s,” she said.

The directive for all government agencies to be equipped with day care centres for children by January 2019 was issued following the death of five-month-old Adam Rayqal Mohd Sufi, who was found in a freezer in his babysitter’s house last month. – August 11, 2018.