Malaysia Dedicated to Safeguarding Children's Rights

The Malaysian government has been dedicated to safeguarding the rights of children in the country, including their well-being, a Malaysian official said on Wednesday.

Malaysia enacted the Child Act in 2001, ensuring that every child is entitled to protection and assistance regardless of their backgrounds, said Deputy Women, Family and Social Development Minister Chew Mei Fun.

While encouraging communities to help prevent children from getting involved in unethical, immoral and criminal activities, the act also provides assistance to children from broken families, Chew told Xinhua in an interview.

Following the enactment of the law, the Child Protection Teams (CPT) and Child Activity Centers (CAC) have been set up at both state and district levels to encourage various communities in the country to participate in preventive and rehabilitative programs targeting children at risk or vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

According to Chew, the CPT offers assistance to children and families at high risks, while the CAC is tasked with organizing programs that will provide care and protection to children at risk of being abused.

As of 2008, 131 CPTs and 126 CACs have been established throughout Malaysia.

Besides, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) established also under the act assists probation officers in obtaining guardianship and in fostering parents with children having problems with their families.

Malaysia has a population of 28.3 million, of which 39.2 percent or 11.1 million are below 18.

As more and more women join the workforce in the country, the government encourages employers in both public and private sectors to provide nurseries.

It gives tax incentives to those employers who establish nurseries, and the procedures for setting up nurseries have also been simplified, Chew said

On financial aid, Chew said that the government's monetary assistance for children had increased from some 19 million ringgit (US$5.43 million) in 2001 to 72 million ringgit (US$20.57 million) in 2007.

In the first half of 2008, 43.64 million ringgit (US$12.47 million) of assistance were allocated, she said, adding that the needy children from families living below the poverty line would receive 100 ringgit (US$28.57) a month from the government and families that adopt children would be given 250 ringgit (US$71.43) to 500 ringgit (US$142.86) a month.

The National Children's Day in Malaysia falls on the last Saturday in October annually with "Safe Families, Safe Childhood" as this year's theme.

According to Chew, the theme was set as the government was concerned about the rise in the number of child abuse cases. The number of reported cases of child abuse, rape and molestation rose from 2,236 in 2005 to 5,744 in 2008.

As many Malaysians opt to keep silent on these issues, their awareness must be raised so that more people could come out to report such cases, helping the authorities to curb the problem, Chew said.

In September, the Malaysian authorities approved two policies, namely the National Children Policies and National Children Protection Policies.

While the first is focused on children's rights of survival, protection and development, the second ensures that each child in the country is kept away from isolation, abuse and violence, Chew said.

Malaysia will continue to strive to safeguard children's rights in the future, she added.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2009)