A/HRC/44/40/Add.1 parent with a Malaysian identity card to confirm citizenship.119 Without a valid marriage certificate, parents are often reluctant to register the birth of a child, creating barriers to citizenship. It can be difficult for parents to transmit nationality to an adopted child if a Malaysian birth certificate is not available. 120 These largely unnecessary barriers have enormous consequences for the child’s lifelong ability to access work, education, health care and social support, and to be a productive member of society. 78. The Government introduced a policy in 2009, reiterated in 2018, to allow undocumented children of Malaysian parents to access public schools, but the associated fees and additional requirements have meant that only 2,635 children benefited from the policy in 2019. People with disabilities 79. People with disabilities in Malaysia face widespread societal discrimination and obstacles that prevent them from participating in society on an equal basis with others. While World Health Organization (WHO) estimates suggest that 15 per cent of the global population experiences some form of disability, 121 only 537,000 people with disabilities were registered in Malaysia as of 2019, or just 1.6 per cent of the population. The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development unconvincingly blamed the low registration rates on individuals’ “denial” of their own disabilities, rather than insufficient outreach or registration efforts by the Government. 80. According to the National Human Rights Commission, the majority of people with disabilities do not have a fixed income that meets their daily needs and one disability organization said that people with disabilities received just RM 400 (US$ 98) a month if working, or RM 300 (US$ 73) a month if “bedridden”. Such amounts are patently inadequate and appear to penalize those in the most vulnerable situations in the name of incentivizing work. 81. Workforce participation among people with disabilities is low, with approximately 4,500 workers in public and private sectors as of 2018, mainly due to a lack of accessible workplace environments and negative employer perceptions of people with disabilities.122 Many employers in Malaysia have failed to ensure workplaces are accessible.123 Older persons 82. The Malaysian population is ageing, with the proportion of the population over 60 expected to reach 15 per cent by 2035.124 There are real concerns as to whether the pension schemes in place adequately protect people from poverty as they grow older and those who are outside the formal workforce do not benefit from these schemes anyway. As of 2013, nearly 70 per cent of 54 year-olds had less than RM 50,000 (US$ 12,297) in savings.125 Of the members of the Employees Provident Fund, 98 per cent say their savings are insufficient for retirement126 and 70 per cent of those who withdraw from their Fund at age 55 reportedly use up their savings less than a decade after retiring. 127 According to the United Nations Population Fund, the current monthly assistance provided to older people in poverty is not sufficient to fulfil their basic needs. 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 Anthea Mulakala, “Sabah’s stateless children”, The Asia Foundation, 8 December 2010. Confidential submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. WHO and the World Bank, World Report on Disability (2011). Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mid-term review of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan 2016–2020, ch. 2, p. 10. National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, Annual Report 2018, p. 133. Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mid-term review of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan 2016–2020, ch. 2, p. 16. UNDP, Malaysia Human Development Report 2013, 2014, http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/malaysiahuman-development-report-2013 p. 50. World Bank, Malaysia Economic Monitor, December 2019: Making Ends Meet, p. 78. Jomo KS, “Most Malaysians cannot afford to retire,” The Star Online, 25 October 2017. 17