MINISTER GIVES M'SIAN FATHERS FIVE-STAR RATING

SEREMBAN (Malaysia), June 21 (Bernama) -- Fathers in Malaysia deserve a
five-star rating as they have generally proven to be the best, said Women,
Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

She said young fathers were not embarrassed to help their wives in the
kitchen, take care of their children, tidy the house and wash clothes.

"Very few fathers during my generation were like them," she said after
opening the national-level Father's Day celebration, here, Sunday.

She said Malaysian fathers still deserved top recognition although there
were cases of irresponsible fathers or those who threw away their babies or
suddenly disappeared.

She added that their numbers were small while the majority of Malaysian
fathers were responsible, caring and loving.

Shahrizat said the Father's Day celebration this year focused on young
fathers because out of seven million families in the country, 42 per cent were
headed by young fathers.

She said the challenges faced by today's fathers were awesome as today's
family unit comprised a father, mother and their children which was different
from that of yesteryear as it also also consisted of the grandparent/s.

"As fathers and mother are both working today, fathers must be prepared to
be responsible, interact and make their presence felt in the home."

Asked whether single fathers should be given more support as there were
already many associations looking after the interest of single mothers,
Shahrizat said it was not an issue as women tended to form associations.

"What is important is for fathers to be responsible and love and respect
their wife to create a happy family," she said.

--BERNAMA