Yesterday, the newly-amended Child Act was passed in Parliament, abolishing whipping and enforcing community service for child offenders.

The new amendments will see also stricter penalties under Section 31, with the jail term doubled to a maximum of 20 years and the fine increased to RM50,000 from RM20,000 for child abuse and neglect cases.

Chew Yiun Yi, an advertising lecturer in a local private university in Subang Jaya, claimed that young offenders would not learn from whipping or any form of physical punishment, and instead will act rebelliously.

“My son was a rascal when he was a teenager. He got into all sorts of trouble, but my husband and I never slapped him or anything like that.

“Instead, we talked to him openly and we tried to understand what the problem was. Whether it was peer pressure or mere social influence, we always managed to get through to him and it always helped,” she said.

Dr Chong Swee Leng, who has a PhD in social psychology from an Australian university, agreed with Chew. He said children now were “not being heard enough”.

“Parents and children do not communicate as well as they did back then. This will lead to a lot of tension.

“I’m glad that they have decided to abolish whipping because physical punishment never does any good. We just need to hear them out more,” Chong said.

According to Chong, most children are bound to be rebellious in one way or another at any point in their lives. He stated that social and media influences will directly or indirectly “trigger a child’s rebellious side”, especially at a young age.

He added that it was “inevitable” for children to be “naughty” or to “do things they’re not supposed to do”, but the real problem occurred when the children do not learn because of the parents’ apathy.

“It’s simple. If you don’t tell your child that what he’s doing is wrong, he will only keep doing it.

“If you punish him physically or embarrass him publicly, the child – especially if he is a teenager – will never learn from his mistakes,” Chong said.

When asked if enforcing community service for child offenders was a good alternative, both Chew and Chong agreed that it would teach the children humility.

“It teaches them that their actions will always have consequences. Instead of physical pain, community service focuses more on the emotional side which is the part that really matters,” Chew said.

“They learn how to be humble. They also learn humility through ‘picking up other people’s trash’, so to speak,” Chong said.

Jenny Chan, who is a housewife and a mother of two, applauded the amendments and suggested even more severe punishment for those convicted of harming children.

“A fine of RM50,000 and 20 years is not enough, in my opinion. If you are a parent, you would understand that your children are your blood and soul and you would want nothing but the best for them.

“If I was in charge, I would sentence them to life.”

Her father-in-law, who only wanted to be known as Mr Chan, said that Jenny’s suggestions were reasonable and that he would do the same thing.

“Parents who do it (neglect their children) should not have children in the first place. It is a selfish move to have children if they’re not ready.

“I cannot think of anything worse than parents neglecting their own children.”

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Azizah Mohd Dun said the bill was drawn up in the best interests of the children.