To restore confidence in Malaysia’s child protection services we need a Royal Commission of Inquiry

THE ongoing child sexual abuse scandal has shaken many of us working in child protection under civil society organisations.

The duration and scale of the abuse by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) is horrendous, and it will take many months to uncover the full scope of the abuse and the possibly thousands of children that have been severely traumatised over decades. We hope attempts will also be made to identify children who have previously been in their facilities and offer them the support they need.

Of serious concern is the lack of oversight and action by the very agencies that are supposed to protect children – the Welfare Department and the police. We now hear that this vast business infrastructure has not even paid taxes, raising concerns about the Inland Revenue Board’s abilities.

It is as though government agencies have had a decades-long blind spot when it came to GISBH. A blind spot that placed thousands of children into a deep, dark hell. This may also be true for other organisations in the country.

This child sexual abuse scandal as well as other incidents before it highlight the large deficits in our child protection services. As civil society organisations, we have often expressed our concerns about the country’s weak and inadequate child protection services. This scandal has shown that the services cannot be allowed to continue as is and need a complete overhaul.

We support the call from Dr Farah Nini, Children’s Commissioner at Suhakam (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia), for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI). Only a RCI can restore confidence in Malaysia's child protection services.

Such a RCI should look not just at the disaster involving GISBH but at all aspects of child protection. Our child protection services require an independent audit, a transparent assessment of weaknesses and limitations, and suggestions for reform with a workable way forward.

The RCI should involve civil society and be fully available to the public. Upon completion of the RCI, the findings must be tabled and debated at the next meeting of Parliament, because the care and protection of children must be depoliticised and requires an all-of-society approach.

The GISBH child sexual abuse scandal is a line in the sand. This is not a two-week media cycle issue. Our child protection services cannot continue as they are.

The fact that the Welfare Department and the police have yet to take any responsibility is disheartening. If there is no meaningful action and reform, then we will continue to fail our children – endlessly. We appeal to our Members of Parliament to support the RCI and be advocates for our children.

The government has overlooked the calls for establishing an independent Children’s Commission accountable to Parliament. Creating a Children’s Department under the Welfare Department does not address any of the existing challenges or concerns. Essentially, this is merely a rebranding of an inadequate and inefficient service, while children continue to endure hardship. We ask that the government urgently relook the Child Commission Bill.

Any and every space that a child is in must be a safe space. We must restore public confidence in our child protection agencies. Only an independent RCI with comprehensive reform will do this.

DATUK DR AMAR-SINGH HSS (consultant paediatrician, child-disability activist)

SHARMILA SEKARAN (Voice of the Children)

CRIB FOUNDATION (Child Rights Innovation & Betterment)

THE TALISMAN PROJECT

YAYASAN CHOW KIT

MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS

ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN LAWYERS

WOMEN’S CENTRE FOR CHANGE, PENANG

ANISA AHMAD (child activist)

PUSAT JAGAAN KANAK-KANAK VIVEKANANDA REMBAU, NEGRI SEMBILAN

JOHOR WOMEN’S LEAGUE

VOICE OF THE CHILDREN

END CSEC NETWORK (End Commercial, Sexual Exploitation of Children)

PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN

FEDERATION OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASSOCIATIONS MALAYSIA

CHILDLINE FOUNDATION

TOY LIBRARIES MALAYSIA

PERSATUAN UNTUK ANAK KITA (PUAKPayong)

PERTUBUHAN AMAL RUMAH MELOR (Meru, Klang)

PURPLE LILY SOCIAL ASSOCIATION KUCHING

WORLD VISION MALAYSIA

MONTESSORI ASSOCIATION MALAYSIA

PLAY UNLIMITED

MALAYSIAN HINDU DHARMA ASSOCIATION

KASTHURI KRISHNAN (lawyer)

WOMEN’S AID ORGANISATION

VANGUARDS4CHANGE

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF KELANTAN (Rehak)

SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY

LAWYER KAMEK

THE OKU RIGHTS MATTER PROJECT

WONG HUI MIN (president, National Early Childhood Intervention Council)

SAN YUENWAH (The OKU Rights Matter Project)

AZIRA AZIZ (lawyer)

WILHELMINA MOWE

DR WONG WOAN YIING (consultant paediatrician)

SABAH WOMEN’S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP

KONG LAN LEE (director, Persuatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Kajang Selangor)

HOST INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION MALAYSIA

NGOHUB

ASIA COMMUNITY SERVICE

KUCING ASSOCIATION OF TALENT DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE OF SPECIAL NEEDS

ASSOC PROF DR WAN PUSPA MELATI WAN HALIM (clinical sociologist)

MALAYSIAN COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE GROUP

MICHELLE LAI (chairperson, New Horizons Society Ipoh)

HUMANKIND

MURUGESWARAN VEERASAMY (Damai Disabled Person Association Malaysia)

MALAYSIAN RARE DISORDERS SOCIETY

PERSATUAN WECAREJOURNEY

ASSOCIATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS SIBU

PROF DR TOH TECK HOCK (consultant paediatrician)

MAIZAN MOHD SALLEH (founder & president of the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Albinism Association)

NG LAI-THIN (project lead, National Early Childhood Intervention Council)

SISTERS IN ISLAM

DEAF ADVOCACY AND WELLBEING NATIONAL ORGANISATION MALAYSIA

DR ANTHONY CHONG (deaf individual and advocate)

CASSANDRA SII (director, SPICES Early Intervention Centre – Support for Parents, Infants, and Children through Early Services)

FAMILY FRONTIERS