SEREMBAN: It is unacceptable for political parties to use children to deliver campaign messages, says Wanita MCA.
Its chairman Senator Datuk Wong You Fong said children are too young to understand such messages crafted by adults and should never be made to deliver them.
"Children are simply not in a position to evaluate political parties, policies or election issues. Yet they are being made to speak on behalf of political parties whose records they have never examined and to repeat political claims they are far too young to comprehend," she said in a statement on Thursday (July 30).
She said the practice reflected concerns previously raised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which had warned against adults deciding what children should say.
Wong added that Malaysia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, adding that the views expressed in such campaign videos were "clearly those of adults, not children."
She also warned that the impact could extend well beyond the election as campaign videos posted online could remain accessible for years and permanently associate children with political views they were too young to understand or may later reject.
"Although some parents may have consented to their children's participation without intending any harm, parental consent does not resolve the issue.
"The privacy and digital footprint being surrendered belong to the child, not the parent," she said.
Wong said Wanita MCA fully supports a joint statement issued by child rights advocacy groups and non-governmental organisations calling for children to be excluded from political campaigning.
Referring to videos circulating during the Negri Sembilan election campaign, she alleged that Pakatan Harapan and DAP leaders filmed children chanting campaign slogans and telling the public how to vote.
She said there was a distinction between children accompanying their parents to political events and children being directed to deliver political messages.
"The former is understandable; the latter is unacceptable," she said.
Wong also pointed out that during the 2025 Sabah state election, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister had urged political parties not to use children for election campaigning, describing the practice as irresponsible and contrary to electoral ethics.
She said it was inconsistent that campaigners from parties within the governing coalition were now allegedly engaging in the same conduct in Negri Sembilan.
"Wanita MCA therefore calls upon Pakatan and DAP to immediately withdraw all materials featuring children delivering political messages and to publicly commit that no child will be used in this manner for the remainder of the election campaign.
"We also urge the Election Commission to seize this opportunity to establish clear and enforceable guidelines.
"The same issue arose in Negri Sembilan in 2019, yet no definitive standards were introduced," she added.
Wong said she had instructed all Wanita MCA divisions not to film children delivering political content or campaign messages and invited all political parties, including MCA, to be held to the same standard.
"Children cannot vote. They cannot give informed consent. They should never be used to campaign for political parties," she said.
