A fully independent Children’s Commissioner’s Office soon

A NEW law is being drafted to enable the formation of a fully independent Children’s Commissioner’s Office dedicated to tackling issues affecting children in Malaysia, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

“The government will enact a special Act to make the Children’s Commissioner’s Office an independent body to serve as a watchdog on issues affecting children in the country.

“It will cover not only legal issues but all aspects affecting children,” said Azalina, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of law and institutional reforms.

Although a Children’s Commissioner was recently appointed, Azalina said that the role has limitations as it comes under the purview of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

She added Suhakam has limitations and focuses more on human rights. “But the expertise of a commissioner is like a watchdog that covers more than just human rights. That is why we need an Act to support the child commissioner.

“Right now it is complicated in operation, expenditure and powers which are under Suhakam.

“We feel that the commission needs to be an independent office as it will be ideal in playing a more effective role,” she said at Parliament House yesterday.

Azalina also said the move to make the Children’s Commissioner’s Office fully independent is necessary in light of the large number of children in the country who should be given due attention in line with the Malaysia Madani concept.

“Based on the Statistics Department’s data, there were 9.3 million children in the country in 2020. Of this, 49.9% were males and 51.1% were females,” she said.

In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the appointment of a Children’s Commissioner under Suhakam in efforts to address abuse and social issues among children.

On March 8, Dr Farah Nini Dusuki, a senior lecturer at Universiti Malaya’s law faculty, was appointed as the Children’s Commissioner for a three-year term from March 8.

Dr Farah welcomed the proposal for an independent children’s commission.

“We don’t want to be reactive when things happen, we want to prevent issues from arising. To do that, we must listen to our children,” she said.