SEREMBAN: Political parties should stop using children to deliver campaign messages, says Wanita MCA, including all parties contesting the Negri Sembilan election.
Wanita MCA chief Datuk Wong You Fong (pic) said children are incapable of evaluating political parties, policies or election issues, and should not be made to repeat messages crafted by adults.
“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 yesterday.
Wong said the practice echoed concerns previously raised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which warned against adults deciding what children should say.
She noted 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 the adults, not the children”.
She also warned that the impact could extend well beyond polling day, as videos uploaded online could remain accessible for years and permanently associate children with political views they 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 supported a joint statement by child rights 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 children had been filmed by Pakatan Harapan and DAP leaders chanting campaign slogans and telling the public how to vote.
She stressed that there is a clear 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.
“Wanita MCA calls on Pakatan Harapan and DAP to immediately withdraw all campaign materials featuring children delivering political messages and to publicly commit that no child will be used in this manner for the remainder of the campaign.”
Wong also pointed out that during the Sabah state election last year, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri urged political parties not to use children in election campaigns, describing the practice as irresponsible and contrary to electoral ethics.
“We also urge the Election Commission to seize this opportunity to introduce clear and enforceable guidelines,” she said.
Wong added that 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.
