The Star, August 3 2007 

By IZATUN SHARI

KUALA LUMPUR: Take a break to give birth and raise your baby. And when the child’s big enough, come back to work. This is an option that new mothers may soon have in a flexi scheme that is being studied by the Public Services Department(PSD). 

Women’s role: Shahrizat, Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor shaking hands with a group of girls and women representing women’s contributions in various forms to the nation at the Women’s Summit 2007 in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who disclosed this when opening the Women’s Summit 2007 here yesterday, said the time has come to take a serious look at the issue. Women with family commitments need not retreat from the workforce if this move is implemented, the Deputy Prime Minister said. 

“Women who have just given birth should be given the opportunity to opt out of work for a while and return later when their children have grown slightly bigger,” he said. “I call upon the public and private sectors to look at the possibility of introducing such flexible arrangements for women to opt in and out of service,” he added. 

More than 2,000 people attended the summit, themed Putting Women at the Heart of Development, which discussed work-life balance. Najib said he believed many women did not mind losing their seniority (at the workplace) if they could devote their time to looking after their children. Citing an example, he said female teachers could be allowed to opt out of service for three years before teaching again. Speaking at a press conference later, he said: “I find that many women would like to make such a decision, so that their family priorities are taken care of.  “At the same time, they are not totally detached from their career, whether in the civil service or the private sector.” Najib said no decision had been made on the matter but he had asked the PSD to study it. “I have asked the PSD to study this matter to find out if it is do-able.”