COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF MALAYSIA
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the initial report of Malaysia on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Introducing the report, Datuk Faizah Mohd Tahir, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia, said that implementation of the current health structure had resulted in low child mortality rates: an infant mortality rate of 5.1 per 1,000 live births and a toddler mortality rate of 0.5 per 1,000 toddlers. There was also almost universal coverage for child immunizations. On children's development, early childhood childcare centres for children below four years had been had been established in 1984 under the Childcare Centres Act. The Government had also provided incentives to encourage the private sector to set up early childcare centres and her Ministry had developed subsidized community childcare centres for lower income families.
Continuing with the presentation, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney General of Malaysia and Head of Delegation, said planned amendments to laws to bring them into conformity with the Convention included the 1975 amendments to the Internal Security Act, which provided for the death penalty for children. He had received information yesterday from the Government that his information paper on the subject – calling for a repeal of the death penalty for children – had been taken note of, and had raised no objections from the Cabinet. Among amendments to the Child Act that were contemplated was the fullest protection of children who had been subject to abuse or neglect. Another was to abolish the punishment of caning of children, and he was optimistic that it would be adopted.
In preliminary remarks, Committee Expert Lothar Friedrich Krappmann, who served as Rapporteur for the report of Malaysia, noted the remarkable investments Malaysia had made in the health and education sectors; the Child Act, which incorporated the principles of the Convention; the concentration of responsibility for children's affairs in the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development; as well as the establishment of a number of mechanisms for children, including the child protection teams and crisis intervention centres, which all were doing a very good job. Among concerns that remained, which he was sure the delegation shared, were vulnerable children, among them asylum-seeking and refugee children; corporal punishment; domestic violence; pockets of poverty; sexual abuse; trafficking; the situation of domestic servants; and child labour; as well as the dual legal system that meant children enjoyed different rights.
An Expert raised the issue of the problems surrounding the birth registration of children who were non-citizens, a large number of whom appeared not to be registered. Another concern regarded the fact that children's freedom of expression appeared to be restricted; students had apparently been prosecuted for having expressed their views against the Internal Security Act. The Chairperson added his concern that Malaysia had still not ratified many of the important human rights conventions.
The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Malaysia towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 2 February.
The delegation of Malaysia included a total of 20 officials both from the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, the Attorney General Chambers, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Department of Social Welfare, the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the World Trade Organization, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, and the Ministry of Internal Security of Malaysia.
When the Committee next reconvenes on Friday, 26 January at 10 a.m., it will consider the third periodic report of Chile (CRC/C/CHL/3).
Report of Malaysia
Children’s rights remain a significant part of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s agenda since its inception in 2000, according to the initial report of Malaysia (CRC/C/MYS/1). The Human Rights Education and Promotion Working Group focuses on promotion and advocacy of the rights of the child through community and school-based programmes, such as “Training of Adult and Young Trainers on the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, Children's Convention awareness workshops, message and poster competitions on the Convention, and Children's Convention Camps. In January 2004, the Law Reform and International Treaties Working Group organized a round-table discussion on the status of the implementation of the Convention, which was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including children and young people.
In fulfilling its obligations under the Convention, Malaysia enacted the Child Act 2001, whose provisions are based on the four core principles of the Convention: non-discrimination; the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. The Act also requires the setting up of Child Protection Teams and Child Activity Centres at both state and district levels, aimed at mobilizing community participation in the implementation of preventive and rehabilitative programmes. Such programmes and activities are targeted towards children at risk or children vulnerable to all forms of abuse and exploitation. In terms of administration of juvenile justice, the Child Act provides for a procedure before the Court for Children that is child-friendly taking into account the mental and emotional maturity of a child. The child is presumed innocent until found guilty and is guaranteed the right to be heard. The child also has a right to a counsel. The provisions pertaining to a Muslim child’s rights may be found in the Islamic Family Law Act (1984).
Presentation of Report
DATUK FAIZAH MOHD TAHIR, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia, said that, although they had been very late in submitting their report, Malaysia had remained very committed to promoting and the rights of the child, as could be seen in the report presented today. Among the administrative measures, policies and programmes undertaken in implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as of March 2004, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development had been expanded and, in 2005, a focal point for implementing the Convention, the Child Division under the Department of Social Welfare, had been created. There were also plans to establish a unit on children at the state as well as the district levels.
Following the Commitment made by Malaysia at the World Summit for Children in 1990, Malaysia had formulated a National Plan of Action for Children Survival, Protection and Development that same year. In 2007 the Government had proposed a National Child Policy and a Second Plan of Action was currently being drafted, Ms. Tahir indicated.
Regarding children's survival, Ms. Tahir said that implementation of the current health structure had resulted in low child mortality rates: an infant mortality rate of 5.1 per 1,000 live births and a toddler mortality rate of 0.5 per 1,000 toddlers. There was almost universal coverage for child immunizations.
On development, Ms. Tahir noted that all children had a right to an education. Early childhood childcare centres for children below 4 years had been established in 1984 under the Child Care Centres Act. The Government had also provided incentives to encourage the private sector to set up early childcare centres. In addition, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development had developed community childcare centres for lower income families that were subsidized.
On disabilities, Malaysia had developed a system of Community-Based Rehabilitation Centres that provided a one-stop centre for persons with disabilities, providing diagnosis, rehabilitation, treatment and special education. Today there were 364 such centres, Ms. Tahir specified.
Under the Education Act, amended in 2002, primary education was compulsory for all children starting the age of six, and there was a 91.8 per cent enrolment rate in 2006. Secondary education also enjoyed good rates of enrolment, Ms. Tahir pointed out, with 84.4 per cent enrolment in lower secondary schools, and 72.4 per cent for upper secondary school in 2006. The national education budget was 14.5 per cent of the total national budget.
Ms. Tahir announced that there were 131 child protection teams in Malaysia today. The Child Act stipulated that the Government set up child activity centres, which organized programmes that provided care and protection to children at risk of being abused, and conducted child development and parenting courses for the community. There were currently 135 such centres. There were also 110 child welfare committees, tasked with rehabilitating child offenders.
With regard to child participation, there were a number of programmes, including the Rakan Muda programme, which focused on youths who were out of the education system and unemployed youths, and the BRATS (Bright, Roving, and Annoying Teens), to act as an avenue for adolescents to learn basic journalism skills and to sensitize them to social issues. Participants also learned how to lobby for their rights in policies pertaining to youth. Indeed, Ms. Tahir underscored, children had participated in the drafting of the National Reproductive Health and Social Education Guideline by giving their views.
The Government had recently approved the National Reproductive Health and Social Education Guideline, Ms. Tahir said, and would be setting up a specialized hospital for women and children to provide comprehensive and integrated health care for children.
TAN SRI ABDUL GANI PATAIL, Attorney General of Malaysia and Head of Delegation, continuing to present the report with regard in particular to the conformity of domestic legislation with the provisions of the Convention, observed that the Child Act 2001 had been enacted for that purpose. Admittedly, Malaysia had been guilty of not fulfilling all of its obligations under the Convention, but he stressed that that did not mean the will was not there. It had been owing to the obstacles Malaysia had faced, which they were working hard to overcome. For example, while the Education Act 1996 had been amended in 2002 to provide for compulsory primary education, implementation was not so simple. For that reason, the Government had been looking into measures to ensure compliance with the Act's provisions.
Plans to amend laws to bring them into conformity with the Convention included the internal security regulations of 1975, which provided for the death penalty for children. Mr. Patail had received information yesterday from the Government that his information paper on the subject – calling for a repeal of that provision – had been taken note of, and had raised no objections from the Cabinet. Therefore, it appeared his reform would go through. Among amendments to the Child Act that were contemplated was the fullest protection of children who had been subject to abuse or neglect. Another was to abolish the punishment of caning of children, which he judged would encounter no opposition, given the feedback he had received.
The Young Persons Employment Act 1996 was also to be amended with regard to the minimum age for children's employment, Mr. Patail observed. In general, however, Malaysia was not opposed to the idea of children working on a voluntary basis, as long as that was appropriately regulated.
Reform of the Care Centres Act of 1993 was also planned, to expedite the process of placing children and to upgrade the conditions in such centres, among other things, Mr. Patail said.
A committee had been appointed by the Government, including a broad representation from actors on both sides, to find a way to reconcile the two different legal systems in the country: Shariah law and civil law. Mr. Patail said that he himself chaired that committee, which had already proposed reforms of the marriage act, the inheritance act and the Islamic Family Law Act.
Finally, regarding new legislation in the works, an anti-trafficking in persons bill, which included specifically the offence of trafficking in children, was hoped to be adopted this June. Another important draft bill, which it was hoped would be adopted this June, was a protective mechanism for rescued persons. Mr. Patail explained that that bill would provide places for safety and refuge and temporary shelter for such persons; provide needed identity documents; and provide services to rehabilitate and train such persons for reintegration into society.
Questions by Experts
LOTHAR FRIEDRICH KRAPPMANN, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Malaysia, thanked the delegation for the presentation, which provided the Committee with a very comprehensive update on measures both undertaken and planned in implementing the provisions of the Convention.
Mr. Krappmann said that, given its history, political system and structure, Malaysia was in many ways a favoured country, although it had also been hit by the deadly and devastating tsunami in 2004 and most recently by enormous floods. The growth in Malaysia's gross domestic product over the years in particular had been quite remarkable. The available resources had especially been used in the sectors of health and education, and children had evidently benefited. Amazing progress had been made with regard to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
With regard to non-Malaysian children, Mr. Krappmann noted that, included among that number were the 1 to 2 million non-citizens in Malaysia, both legal and illegal immigrants, asylum-seeking refugees, migrant workers, and trafficked women and children, many of whom were children. Did those children enjoy the same rights as other Malaysian children?
The laws of Malaysia should be in agreement with the requirements of the Convention, Mr. Krappmann pointed out. With regard to the Child Act 2001, some concerns remained, including a provision for respecting the views of children, an obligation on teachers and caregivers to report abuse or neglect, and a lack of a prohibition against whipping. In that connection, he noted that it had been announced by the delegation today that this provision would be changed.
In general, Mr. Krappmann wondered what the status of the Convention was in the legal system of Malaysia, and what happened in case of conflict between Malaysian law and the Convention's provisions. For example, what if a child sentenced to whipping challenged that sentence, referring to his rights under the Convention?
With regard to dissemination and training, Mr. Krappmann wished to know whether all caregivers, social workers, and protection team members were familiar with the Convention? Had parents been informed? Were all children educated about their rights?
Finally, with regard to coordination between the various governmental bodies concerned with children, Mr. Krappmann observed that there was a the Coordinating Council for the Protection of Children established by the Child Act, as well as a National Advisory and Consultative Council for Children. It appeared the responsibilities and staff of those bodies enjoyed wide overlap and he would appreciate clarification of their roles.
Another Committee Expert wanted to know exactly when Malaysia planned to withdraw the reservations it had made to a number of the Convention's articles. It was also to hoped that Malaysia would amend the legal age for marriage so that it was the same for boys and girls. Another area of concern remained the discrimination faced by indigenous children, and refugee children – in particular towards children from the Philippines.
An Expert raised the issue of the problems surrounding the birth registration of non-citizens, a large number of whom appeared not to be registered. Another concern regarded the fact that children's freedom of expression appeared to be restricted; students had apparently been prosecuted for having expressed their views against the Internal Security Act.
The Chairperson added that he wondered why Malaysia had still not ratified many of the important human rights conventions.
Response by the Delegation
TAN SRI ABDUL GANI PATAIL, Attorney General of Malaysia and Head of Delegation, responding to these questions and others, said that, with regard to Malaysia's non-ratification of human rights conventions, to be absolutely frank, he himself was at the root of the problem. He wished to explain: Malaysia had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and it had then become necessary to amend all of its legislation to conform with it. That was a huge undertaking and Malaysia had not completed it. That looked bad. It was not lack of interest or lack of concern about the issues raised in the various human rights conventions, he stressed, it was the difficulty of preparing Malaysian law to be in conformity with them. They were now undertaking to reform their legislation first, so that when ratification of such conventions took place, implementation would be the only step that was left.
On the withdrawal of reservations, Mr. Patail said he had imposed certain internal timeframes for that to happen. He did not want to share them, however, as he did not want to promise anything he could not deliver. There was a March/April sitting of the Parliament, and then any law had to be approved by the King or Queen. So the earliest that any new law could be approved would be June 2007. In general, he would say that he was optimistic about the fate of the bills he had mentioned today.
Regarding restrictions on children's freedom of expression, Mr. Patail said he knew something about this from personal experience. He, too, had been held in detention for a night as a student. He did not wish to debate the issue of whether or not it was a good provision that freedom of speech should be tempered by national security concerns. What he could absolutely affirm was that not a single student had been held in custody for speaking out against the Internal Security Act. He would appreciate receiving details of any such accusation, so that he could look into the matter.
Turning to Malaysia's reservation to Article 37 of the Convention, on corporal punishment, the Attorney General had already said that they were already committed to withdrawing their reservation to that article. Caning or whipping of children was unacceptable and was against the Convention, and he saw no problems with amending the Child Act to reflect that.
Children born out of wedlock were still citizens of the country, Mr. Patail affirmed. It was only in Shariah law that that situation presented a problem, in particular with regard to inheritance.
Mr. Patail agreed that there were no provisions for teachers or those involved with providing services for children to report abuse or neglect. In practice, however, there were systems in place and reporting did occur. The school counsellor system had actually been very effective in addressing cases of child abuse and sexual harassment of children. He had received very good feedback from school counsellors on that issue. One improvement that could be made was to increase the number of such counsellors. Currently there was one counsellor for every 500 children.
Mr. Patail clarified that there were actually three legal systems in Malaysia: there were native courts, civil courts and Shariah courts. He pointed out that Malaysia was a multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-cultural society.
Another member of the delegation, continuing to respond to questions, said that there was no overlap between the responsibilities of the Coordinating Council for the Protection of Children and the National Advisory and Consultative Council for Children. The Coordinating Council was responsible for advising the Government about child issues, and was chaired by the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, whereas the Coordinating Council was actually a mechanism on the macro level for coordinating action among the various government agencies, and was chaired by the Director-General of the Department of Social Welfare.
Further Questions by Experts
During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur noted that it was planned to require one year of compulsory pre-school education, and he wished to know when that would happen. He was concerned about those children who were not in education, an issue which appeared to largely affect migrant children, indigenous children, and unregistered children. What measures were contemplated to include those children in the education system? He would also appreciate further information about vocational training.
Mr. Krappmann was also concerned that the guidelines for judging that a child was exhibiting unruly behaviour, for which they could be consigned to institutions, were quite low. More than 30,000 children were in such institutions, he noted, and he had found some pictures of those institutions on the Internet that had shocked him. Whipping was also permitted.
Other Experts asked further questions on topics including, among others, high rates of malaria and tuberculosis in certain regions of the country; a lack of a behavioural approach to stemming HIV/AIDS infection; why the rate for sexual abuse was twice that of any other form of child abuse; the lack of an abuse hotline for children; the absence of explicit legislation criminalizing child pornography; more data on children with disabilities and their access to education and health services; and whether there were any plans to ratify the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees.
Other subjects of concern raised by Experts were availability of counselling for families throughout the country, and in a variety of languages; the fact that children could be held in pre-trial detention, and a lack of time limits for children held in custody; a lack of data on child drug abusers, and an apparent rise in the number of children abusing drugs, increasingly through injection; and what measures were being taken to deal with trafficking in children, in particular to address the plight of the victims.
An Expert was concerned to know how Malaysia proposed to improve access to services and to raise the standard of living of the population living in the hard-to-reach low-income areas of the country, including in the provinces of Sabah and Sarawak. Another Expert wondered if Malaysia had a demographic plan for the country, and how reproductive programmes factored into any such plan. An Expert also asked if there was a plan of action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Response by Delegation
The delegation, in response to those and other questions, said that there were 10.6 million children in Malaysia, a figure which included non-citizens. Admittedly, there was no comprehensive database on children that included children in remote areas as well as non-citizens. They were looking to get that information from various administrative measures undertaken by different government agencies. It was known that for one indigenous group, the Orang Asli, they were 71,888 children.
Regarding one Expert's comment that vocational schools appeared to be a second-class educational system in Malaysia, the delegation countered that assertion by noting that technical schools had been mainstreamed into the general educational system. Children in technical schools received focused training that, if pursued to its highest level, would lead to university.
On drugs, the delegation said the Government recognized this was a serious problem. Anti-drug clubs had been introduced into schools to raise children's awareness. In conjunction with non-governmental organizations, the Government had implemented various prevention programmes to create anti-drug awareness and curb drug abuse. There were also drug rehabilitation centres that provided children with a number of services, including counselling, as well as sports and recreation and civic studies.
Malaysia realized the importance of providing undocumented children with education and they were in contact with a number of non-governmental organizations, including the All Saints Academy and the Red Cross, to undertake educational programmes for such children with some government assistance. They were also working with the migration authorities to provide documentation for such children, especially for rescued children. Rescued children would now be placed in rehabilitation centres under the aegis of the Ministry of the Family, rather than in detention centres run by the migration authorities.
Turning to health issues, recently a national strategic plan on HIV/AIDS 2006-2010 had been developed, which provided the basis for coordinating the work of all partners for prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as reducing the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It also sought to increase support to HIV/AIDS infected and affected children, including psychosocial support. A mother-to-child transmission prevention programme had been in place since 1998, the delegation added.
To increase the rate of breastfeeding, a national breastfeeding week was carried out ever year during the first week of August. Breastfeeding guidelines and baby-friendly initiatives had been instituted in hospitals and maternity clinics, and a monitoring team had been set up to ensure that the guidelines were adhered to and there were no violations of the codes.
While overall malaria infection had declined, in some areas the incidence of both tuberculosis and malaria was increasing. Indeed, the delegation considered that tuberculosis and malaria were actually re-emerging diseases, and were likely due to the influx of migrant workers. Malaysia was currently undertaking activities to raise awareness in the population of the returning threat of those diseases.
On the subject of detention and correctional facilities for children, probation hostels were facilities for pre-trial detention and for juveniles who were beyond parental control, the delegation said. Admission to the hostels was determined by order of a judge. The hostels provided secondary education either inside the institution or in normal schools, as well as moral education and vocational training. There were now 11 probation hostels throughout the country. For children in conflict with the law, there were eight approved schools for rehabilitation and education, with the same sort of facilities as for probation hostels.
Regarding the reintegration of children leaving institutions, the delegation noted that periodic follow-up was provided by social caseworkers, both to ensure that the child's family could cope, as well as to prepare the child for his return. Other services offered included job placement, temporary placement with foster families and vocational planning.
On the issue of the high incidence of sexual abuse, the delegation believed that was owing to an increase in reporting, largely owing to the effectiveness of public-awareness campaigns that had recently been undertaken. Discussions were under way with Child Helpline International to set up a hotline specifically designed for children concerning sexual abuse.
There were no specific laws addressing child pornography. The delegation took note of the Committee's concerns in that regard, and would address them.
In custody questions, the child's best interests were considered paramount under Malay law. There was also a provision for the child to express his or her wishes in the law, the delegation observed. Under Shariah laws, the right of custody was given to the mother, although the mother could be disqualified. Problems of conflict between the various legal systems could arise when one of the separated parents converted to another religion. That was the type of issue that was being worked on in the committee set up to harmonize the legal systems. The solution that seemed to find the widest acceptance in such a case was that the laws that would be applied in custody cases would be those that were relevant the couple's status when they were married.
Indeed, it could be that children could be held too long in custody while awaiting trial, the delegation said, in particular in view of case backlogs. One solution would be to allow more scope for bail, or to allow such children to be moved to the homes provided by the Welfare Department. He felt that this was an issue that would probably have to be addressed administratively, as it simply took too long to reform the laws.
There were 69 children accompanying their mothers in prisons in Malaysia in 2005, and there were 260 children accompanying their mothers in deportation centres in 2006.
Child victims of trafficking were currently held in detention centres. It was a regrettable situation, but that was the current state of the law. Given the likely adoption of the anti-trafficking in persons bill, the delegation did not see any obstacles to the ratification in future of the UN protocol on the prevention of human trafficking.
On child labour, the Child and Young Persons Employment Act provided that children could be engaged in "light work". The delegation agreed that the lack of a definition for such "light work" was a serious problem. While it might be advisable to allow children of certain ages to work provided it was voluntary and it did not compromise the other rights of the child, it was clear that reforms to the children's employment law were needed.
Concerning undocumented children, every child born in Malaysia had to be registered by law; each child born in Malaysia had the right to a name and to a birth document. However, in remote regions such registration had proved to be a problem. One difficulty appeared to be that illegal immigrants did not report births for fear of deportation. Single mothers perhaps also failed to report births because of community prejudices and fear of social stigma. The delegation said that the Government was working with the local authorities, tribal chiefs, and community leaders to register undocumented children.
On adoption, for 2005, there had been 1,554 domestic adoptions managed by the Department of Social Welfare. There had been no cases of inter-country adoption.
A review of reproductive and sexual health of adolescents had been carried out by the Ministry of Health in 2003, and it had found that adequate care was being delivered, the delegation said. Sexual education was included in the school curriculum and a new guideline for sexual and reproductive health for schools had just been drafted. Adolescents had access to reproductive health services at all clinics run by the Ministry of Health as well as at public sector clinics.
On adolescent mental health, there was a training module for health sector staff on that subject presently being developed, and the module was to be implemented this year in all government clinics, the delegation said.
Undocumented children were not allowed to participate in the national education system by law. However, the delegation stressed, they were looking for ways to address that situation, including through the use of non-governmental organizations to provide educational services to such children, and through programmes to increase the registration of undocumented children.
While there was no regulation on family reunification with regard to refugees, there was a firm practice of treating families together, if only for practical reasons. Families were not separated during deportation, for example, the delegation said.
Preliminary Remarks
LOTHAR FRIEDRICH KRAPPMANN, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, in preliminary concluding remarks, thanked Malaysia for sending such a distinguished delegation, which, along with the report and today's dialogue, had clearly demonstrated that the Malaysian Government was committed to children's rights. It had been a constructive day in which the Committee had received a lot of additional information, as well as enlightening explanations with regard to Malaysia's implementation of the Convention and promising plans in that regard. Many doors were open; that was his impression.
Mr. Krappmann said that the Committee's concluding recommendations and observations would note the remarkable investments Malaysia had made in the health and education sectors; the Child Act, which incorporated the principles of the Convention; the concentration of responsibility for children's affairs in the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development; as well as the establishment of a number of mechanisms for children, including the child protection teams and crisis intervention centres, which all were doing a very good job.
Concerns still remained, and Mr. Krappmann was sure that the Government and the Committee shared most if not all of them. They were allies in their concerns about vulnerable children, among them asylum-seeking and refugee children; corporal punishment; domestic violence; pockets of poverty; sexual abuse; trafficking; the situation of domestic servants; child labour; as well as the dual legal system that meant children enjoyed different rights.
Mr. Krappmann noted that many new laws were in the pipeline to address a number of the Committee's concerns, and he hoped that they would be adopted expeditiously. It was well known that some of the many problems Malaysia faced, such as migration, and HIV/AIDS, could only really be successfully addressed in the framework of regional cooperation. He concluded with a wish that Malaysia would submit its next report on time.
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