KUALA LUMPUR: The government and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) have agreed for all Malaysian babies born from Jan 1, 2018 until 2022 to be provided with an initial saving fund of RM200 in unit trust under the fund management company.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this was the first of such scheme to be introduced in Malaysia, known as Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 or ADAM50.
As the country moved towards TN50,he said the local authorities should also make it compulsory for all new offices to provide child care centre, starting with premises in Kuala Lumpur.
"This is to ensure we can strike a balance of work and life quality for families," said Najib, who is also the Finance Minister.
At the same time, the prime minister said TN50 also stressed on the welfare of all including the disabled.
"In this respect, the extra tax exemption for employers who hire the disabled will be extended to workers who are injured in accidents or suffer from critical illnesses who have been certified by the Socso medical board to be able to work", he said in his speech at the tabling of 2018 Budget in Parliament House.
On TN50, Najib said the government had received more than 80,000 aspirations for TN50 from 1.8 million people, representing various segments of the society.
They were from the youths, graduates, civil servants, art activists, educators and the private sector.
Najib said he had introduced TN50 in the 2017 budget to turn Malaysia into the Top 20 nations by 2050.
"I had gone down to the ground and conducted series of engagements and dialogues with different segments of the society," he said.