DATUK Seri Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) has questioned the delay in the formation of the Special Criminal Court on Sexual Crimes Against Children.
She said the special court was supposed to be established nationwide when she was the then law minister in 2017.
“The government had agreed to it then, but it has yet to be implemented,” she said during her speech on the 12th Malaysian Plan (12MP).
At present, Azalina said child sex abuse cases were being heard at the Magistrate’s Court.
“We need a special court with a special witness room.
“We need a special approach because these are child sex victims,” she said, and criticised the absence of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun in the House.
The Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 was passed when Azalina was the de facto law minister.
Demanding answers: Azalina speaking during Question Time in Parliament. — Bernama
The proposed special court was supposed to be set up at the end of 2017 in four stages, with the first phase involving the three states with the highest rates of sexual crimes against children – Selangor, Sarawak and Johor.
The second stage was supposed to be set up simultaneously in Kedah and Perlis, Kelantan and Pahang and the third phase in Penang, Negri Sembilan and Melaka, while the fourth phase involved Sabah, Perak and Terengganu. On another matter, Azalina said it was perplexing that the government decided to appeal the High Court ruling on a citizenship issue involving children born to Malaysian mothers outside the country.
Azalina also said Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had urged the government to drop its plans to appeal.
“I don’t understand why in this issue of citizenship, the Johor Sultan supports the High Court, but the government decides to appeal,” she added.
On Sept 9, the High Court ruled that Malaysian women have the same right as Malaysian men to confer automatic citizenship on their overseas-born children.
However, an appeal was subsequently filed by the government on Sept 14.
Azalina said the government must be fair to all genders on this matter.
“If automatic citizenship isn’t allowed for Malaysian women for their overseas-born children, then the same should be applied to men, too.
“It is as though women in this country are in some ways lesser than men,” she added.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin previously said that the government intended to resolve the issue by amending the Constitution to allow Malaysian mothers the right to confer automatic citizenship on their children born outside Malaysia.
