Suhakam child commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki noted that many parents facing financial hardships placed their children in these facilities, trusting that they would receive proper care.
“But the problem is that these places are not properly regulated or supervised,” she told FMT. “We have a serious issue with monitoring and supervision, which is why we need the community to be more alert.
“I don’t understand how these homes have been operating without a proper licence. I run a school for children with Down Syndrome, and it took us years to obtain all the necessary licences.
“Once you are registered, only then can you be monitored properly, including unannounced inspections by the social welfare department (JKM). These are the levels of supervision we need, to ensure quality care.”
Farah, a senior lecturer at Universiti Malaya, pointed out that the authorities face the daunting task of uncovering the full extent of the alleged abuse while focussing on the children’s rehabilitation.
She suggested that the children be transitioned to family-based care by identifying their closest relatives who could provide a stable and nurturing environment.
However, she noted that this might be challenging, as many of the children were part of a tight-knit group, which raised concerns about finding suitable relatives who were not part of the same community.
She added that placing these children in government-run shelter homes was not a viable option due to overcrowding.
Meanwhile, child rights activist Hartini Zainudin said it was deeply troubling that despite numerous promises of reform and accountability, children in welfare homes remained at risk and were subjected to conditions that violated their fundamental rights to safety, dignity and care.
Hartini, who co-founded the Yayasan Chow Kit child-crisis centre in Kuala Lumpur, said the cases were not isolated incidents, but rather, a “distressing pattern” of neglect and abuse that demanded immediate and decisive action from all stakeholders involved.
She said the 402 children were in desperate need of trauma counselling and encouraged the government to engage NGOs to assist with the children’s mental health.
“It’s despicable and tragic … How did all of this manage to go undetected for so long? Sending them to hospital for observation isn’t enough, they need trauma counselling,” said Hartini.
“There is no way JKM and the authorities have enough counsellors trained in trauma to work with the children, which has to happen immediately while investigations are ongoing.
“We don’t have enough resources and support for survivors, and I hope they (government) will call in NGOs and quickly form a special task force to handle the childrens’ case management.”
Earlier today, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain revealed that the children, rescued after raids on 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, had been taught how to sodomise others, were sodomised by their caretakers and had performed similar acts on the other children at the homes.
He said the suspects allegedly touched the victims’ bodies, claiming it was part of religious medical treatment, while children who were unwell were prevented from seeking treatment at clinics until their condition became critical.
Razarudin also said the children were used to gain sympathy in order to secure donations, adding that they were also punished with heated metal objects if they made mistakes.