PETALING JAYA: Child advocates and civil society organisations want to be included in shaping the special department for children mooted by the Women, Family and Community Development Minister.
A group of 54 child advocates and civil society organisations said in a statement that Cabinet’s agreement to establish a special department for children brings hope in the New Year.
“We are delighted that children are getting a clear focus from the new government.
“We recognise that this is early days and this proposal will need to be worked on with the scope and powers to be clarified.
“We ask the minister (Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri) and the ministry to engage with child advocates and civil society organisations in shaping the formation of the proposed department,” the group said.
It recommended that the government form a children’s ministry that would have the real capacity to make significant changes in the lives of all children in Malaysia and not just be a welfare organisation.
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“No ministry or government agency should make policies that would impact children’s wellbeing without timely consultation with any children's department or ministry that the government creates,” the group said.
They also suggested that the department adopt an equitable and rights-based approach and have a wide scope to cover critical areas including inter-agency child protection cases and data management.
It was also suggested that the department's scope should also encompass prevention of abuse, neglect, exploitation and all forms of violence against children, basic health service delivery, especially to marginalised children and prevent deaths from road injuries and drowning.
It should also support the rights and needs of children with diverse disabilities and improve the status of marginalised children, including those who are migrants, refugees and stateless; and end child poverty among other things, they said.
“It is important to institutionalise children’s participation in the organisation and have representatives from diverse communities, including those who are marginalised and disabled.
“A dedicated, accountable and competent workforce, perhaps some taken from other agencies, and a meaningful budget will be critical to the execution of function,” they added/
The new entity would also have to review and lift Malaysia’s reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and harmonise national legislation and policies with the Child Act and Sexual Offences Against Children Act.
“We would like the Minister and Cabinet to know that we, child advocates and civil society organisations, are firmly behind this initiative and offer our full support.
“It is the single most important plan that the government has put forward for the betterment of children in our nation.
"May the hope that has come with the new government blossom in 2023 and all children experience meaningful and lasting change that improves their outcomes,” they added.
Nancy previously announced that the government would set up a special department for children’s issues that would fall under the Social Welfare Department.
