Kuala Lampur, Sept. 6 -- At 6.30 every morning, a mother prepares breakfast for her children before getting ready for work. Her husband checks on his elderly mother, who has become increasingly dependent on them after a recent illness.

By the time the couple leave home, several hours of work have already been done. None of it appears on a pay slip. Yet without it, someone in the household may not be able to go to work. This is the reality of caregiving for many Malaysian families. It happens quietly at home and is usually treated as a family responsibility rather than economic activity.

But perhaps we need to look at it differently.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Malaysians spend an average of 5 hours and 12...