Amendment on protection from offences abroad passed
THE Dewan Rakyat has passed the Sexual Offences against Children (Amendment) Bill 2026, paving the way for Malaysia to prosecute child sexual offences committed abroad by individuals with substantive links to the country.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the amendment will strengthen the existing legal framework by allowing offences committed abroad to be treated as having occurred in Malaysia, making them prosecutable under local law.
“The proposed amendment provides such a legal basis, while cross-border enforcement aspects will continue to be managed through existing international cooperation mechanisms,” he said in winding up the debate on the Bill.
On the principle of dual criminality, he said it is an aspect of implementing international cooperation rather than a determinant of the country’s criminal jurisdiction.
“The government acknowledges that this issue may arise in certain cases. However, it does not affect the need for Malaysia to first establish a clear legal basis to protect children who have a substantial connection to another country,” he added.
Citing the proposed amendment to Section 3, he said it aims to expand Malaysia’s criminal jurisdiction through extraterritorial application to offences committed outside Malaysia.
“This means that, from the perspective of our law, the offence is punishable even if it was committed abroad,” he said.
“This is consistent with the explanation under paragraph 6(2)(b) of the Extradition Act 1992, which provides that, for offences with extraterritorial application, the requirement of dual criminality is satisfied, if the conduct in question would constitute an offence under our law had it occurred under equivalent circumstances outside Malaysia.”
Kulasegaran added that Malaysia became a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (Opac), and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography through accession on April 12, 2012.
“Malaysia has a responsibility to ensure that its domestic legal framework remains aligned with the international obligations it has undertaken, subject to the reservations maintained by Malaysia under the CRC.
“The proposed amendment represents one of the government’s efforts to strengthen national laws in line with its international commitments by enhancing protections for children against exploitation and sexual abuse, including offences involving cross-border elements,” he said.
According to the Bill, the proposed amendments will broaden the scope of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017.
This will allow Malaysian authorities to prosecute a wider category of offenders and offences committed abroad that have a connection to Malaysia.
The amendment proposes extending the law to cover offences committed abroad by Malaysian permanent residents and individuals whose habitual residence is in Malaysia against any child.
It will also allow Malaysian authorities to take action against any person who commits an offence outside Malaysia against a child who is a Malaysian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person whose habitual residence is in Malaysia.
The Bill states that such offences may be dealt with as if they had been committed within Malaysia.
According to the explanatory statement, the amendment seeks to expand the extraterritorial application of the Act and offences listed in its Schedule.
This will enable the law to apply to a wider category of persons with links to Malaysia.
