Former Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam said there have been a myriad of issues concerning children, including cyberbullying, bullying in schools, teenage pregnancy and abortion, gangsterism, and mental health.
“At least 3,000 children are affected by issues such as these every year.
“With the rapid development of technology, the number is likely to rise as children are exposed to threats that are just a keyboard tap away,” he told FMT, adding that an effective mechanism was needed to address them.
“So, where is the commitment from the government to deal with these issues?”
Nayagam said over the years it had become evident that countless seminars, advertisements and committees to address children’s issues had failed miserably.
He acknowledged that Suhakam has a commissioner for children but likened the body to a toothless lion.
“They cannot make any changes. That is why the government has to create and empower a ministry for this purpose.”
In a statement recently, several health experts asked the government to establish a children’s ministry in the 2023 budget that is to be tabled next month.
The 69 stakeholders who signed the statement included Nation Early Childhood Intervention Council adviser Dr Amar-Singh HSS, Childline Foundation researcher Dr Amelia Alias, and Yayasan Chow Kit chief executive officer Ananti Rajasingam.
Ananti noted that the current child protection system came under the women, family, and community development ministry which has a wide area of focus.
She said, as a result, children’s issues were sometimes not looked upon as a priority.
“Many children in Malaysia still fail to get adequate protection and support compared with those in neighbouring countries which are far more advanced in child protection,” she told FMT.
The calls for a children’s ministry are not new. Former women, family, and community development deputy minister Hannah Yeoh had pushed for it last year.
In a statement in August last year, she pointed out that there were 208 child protectors under the women’s ministry who had their hands full as each of them took up to 80 children’s cases and they had insufficient time for follow-ups.
Yeoh reiterated her firm commitment to the issue, saying that she wholeheartedly supported and affirmed the proposal from the health experts.