Stakeholders urged to collaborate, provide social safety nets for neglected children

KUALA LUMPUR: The Children’s Commissioner (CC) of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged all stakeholders with a vested interest in protecting children to join forces and create an inclusive and conducive environment by providing social safety nets capable of detecting neglected children.

Children’s Commissioner Dr Farah Nini Dusuki (pic) said this can only be achieved when all stakeholders with their respective expertise, experiences of struggles, resources and wisdom collaborate towards realising the children’s rights.

In addition, she said an intersectional and solution-based approach to identify and remove any impediments to progressive efforts in promoting and protecting children’s rights is needed.

For that, she recommends a joint effort to establish an Inter-Agency Standing Committee comprising members from both the government sector and the Madani community to develop a mapping platform for identifying gaps, pooling resources and coordinating responses.

"Given the respective democratic functions held by public and private entities, a dialogical platform is needed to review and consolidate prioritised action for a systematic operational response,” she said in a statement on Wednesday (April 12).

Farah Nini said although Malaysia had made significant legislative achievements in protecting and promoting children’s rights and interests, disjointed efforts and overlapping services provided by various government agencies have been detected in response to the management of children’s issues.

"The CC is confident that despite the protective mechanisms being well-placed within the statutory framework, the system still requires an overhaul to enhance the effectiveness of the overall responses.

"A gap exists between the advancement of legislative reform and meaningful implementation by relevant enforcement officers, which undermines the efforts made in producing well-drafted legislation,” she said.

In addition, she said the existing protection services for children had fallen short of the intended protection under the Child Act 2001 (Act 611).

"The CC believes that the undertaking of public administrative duties and the protection of children’s rights are not mutually exclusive and, on the contrary, respect for children’s rights is essential to run the state sustainably and progressively,” she said. - Bernama