Malaysians are still divided on the need of a filial piety law, but many countries in the world are already enforcing it.
IF you are disrespectful to your elders, you will be tortured and
killed - that was the law during the Han Dynasty in ancient China.
Although the death sentence is no longer mandatory for such behaviour in
modern China, it is still a crime under its newly revised law
Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly.
Enforced in July last year, the Act lists nine new clauses that
stipulate the duties of children - finacially and emotionally - towards
their elderly parents. A main clause requires family members living
apart from the elderly to “frequently visit or send greetings to the
elderly persons.”
And if that is difficult for those living far away, a provision was
included requiring employers to allow their employees time off to visit
their elderly parents. However, no punishments were stipulated for those
who neglect their parents.
The law allows senior citizens to sue their children and get a court order for financial aid, care and visits.
It was introduced due to the growing number of cases of the aged
being abandoned in China in the last few decades, despite the deeply
ingrained filial piety belief in its culture. In 2011, it was reported
that nearly half of the 185 million people aged 60 and above live apart
from their children.
An ageing population was also the impetus behind India’s 2007 filial
piety law which states that adult children have an obligation of
fulfilling all their parent’s needs including housing, food, and medical
care. Failure to do so is punishable by hefty fines, and jail.
Closer to home, Singapore has enforced a Maintenance of Parents Act
since 1999. The law also allows parents to sue their grown children for
an allowance and care; or face six months in jail.
What many will find surprising is that filial piety laws are also
practised in the United States, or rather in 30 American states. What is
more surprising is that they are based on a law dating back to 1601,
the Elizabethan Poor Relief Act, which stipulated that “the father and
grandfather, and the mother and grandmother, and the children of ‘every
poor, old, blind, lame and impotent person’ being of a sufficient
ability, shall, at their own charges, relieve and maintain every such
poor Person.”
The American filial piety laws differ from state to state but each
generally describes the responsibility of children to provide financial
support to their parents.
Many of the laws enable nursing homes to sue the adult children for
their parents’ unpaid medical bills. A dozen states stipulate it a crime
punishable by jail. South Dakota allows children who have been sued to
get a court order for their siblings to pitch in.
Six states make grandchildren accountable.
As many have found out, living in another state does not protect
them against a lawsuit – in 2007, Elnora Thomas from Florida was
reportedly sued by her mother’s nursing home in Pennsylvania for unpaid
bills. When she was unable to cough up the money, she was told they
would put a lien on her house.
In France, the filial piety law allows senior citizens to get cash
and care from their children-in-law too. Other Western countries that
mandate financial support from adult children to their aged parents are
Canada, Ukraine and Russia.
Can you legislate filial
loyalty and love?
ONE of the cases that pushed the government of China to mandate
filial piety was in Jiangsu province where a local TV station reported
that a farmer had kept his 100-year-old mother in a pigsty with a 200kg
sow.
Last December, 94-year-old Zhang Zefang won her suit against her
four children for financial support and care. They were ordered to split
her medical bills and take turns to look after her. Due to their own
financial problems, the siblings asked the youngest brother to take her
in. He put her up in his garage - which was in a condition arguably
worse than a pigsty.
Whose responsibility is it to look after the aged?
A CRITICISM of the filial piety law is that it is an attempt by the
government to pass the buck of elderly care to the people with the
growing size of the ageing population and escalating costs of
healthcare, property and general living.
Another concern is for those who were abused by their parents when
they were younger – should they be legally bound to care for the abusive
parents?
Recently, the father of K-pop idol group Super Junior leader Leeteuk hanged himself after killing his own parents.
He reportedly suffered from depression due to the overwhelming
financial and emotional burden of caring for his elderly parents who had
dementia.
The high publicity case has sent the republic into a national debate
on the public support system available for carers and relatives of the
elderly suffering from serious illnesses, especially Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s diseases.
In New York last week, a group of 70-something Korean-Americans were
evicted from a McDonald’s restaurant for overstaying – they reportedly
hogged the tables at the eatery from 5am until dark every day, affecting
its business. The senior citizens are not homeless; they just have no
other place to hang out together!
Symbols of filial piety
In Japan, filial piety is embodied in various statues called
kohyo no zou
(filial piety statues) around its public buildings and temples. One of
the most famous statues is that of Nippon Foundation founder Ryoichi
Sasakawa carrying his elderly mother up the stairs of a temple.
In China last year,
Guangzhou Daily highlighted the filial
heroics of a 26-year-old man who pushed his disabled mother for 93 days
in a wheelchair for a holiday at a popular tourist site in Yunnan
Province.
Filial tradition
FILIAL piety is a key virtue in cultures rooted in Confucianism such
as that of China and South Korea. It is defined as respect for one’s
parents and ancestors. However, the concept is well-ingrained in many
other cultures too.
Known as
seva in the Indian culture, filial piety is
demonstrated at various traditional ceremonies including weddings where
the young would serve milk to the elders and wash their feet.
In the Malay culture, the tale of Si Tanggang is used to caution the young on the consequences of filial impiety.
Si Tanggang is a poor young boy who goes off to sea in search of his
fortunes. He promises to return for his mother when he makes something
of himself. However, when he gets rich, he forgets her. When he returns
after many years, she rushes to the shore with his favourite dish, but
Si Tanggang is so ashamed of his poor mother that he refuses to
acknowledge her. Worse, he orders his men to throw her off his ship.
Heartbroken, Si Tanggang’s mother prays for God to turn him into stone.
For the Muslims, filial piety is asserted in various Quran verses
and Hadith. A common reminder is “Heaven is at the bottom of your
mother’s feet.”
Similarly, in the Jewish and Christian traditions, filial piety is
asserted in various instances of their holy texts, such as the Fifth
Commandment which says “Honor your father and your mother”.
Contributed by Hariati Azizan The Star/Asia News Network