Rethink on stateless kids hailed
Published on: Wednesday, October 03, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Policy recommendations to address the undocumented children issue in the state is expected to be finalised and presented to the State Government by next year.United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) representative for Malaysia, Marianne Clark Hattingh, said the policy recommendations will follow a study by Unicef together with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and the IDS (Institute for Development Studies Sabah) to be completed by the second quarter of 2019.She said this when met by reporters after a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal at the PKNS building, Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT She said during the meeting, Shafie had expressed his interest and willingness to work together with the relevant agencies to come up with a feasible solution.Hattingh said these recommendations was just some of the things discussed on issues that affected women and children in the State. "It is very encouraging and the UN country team with Unicef is now conducting a study to get a better understanding of the complex issue so they would to be able to come up with policy recommendations as well as developing a platform for innovative solutions to address the issue."We are also looking at another study looking at poverty and looking at Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan mirroring the study we did in Kuala Lumpur on child poverty. So that would complement the findings of the other study." ADVERTISEMENT "We are glad that this issue is finally being looked at from a different angle, and that the state government is willing to really try and solve the problem," she said. "We also discussing about facilitating registration of the children especially in remote indigenous communities and making education more accessible to young people in the state and promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities. Unicef has been working in Sabah to find solutions to these issues and we are looking forward to supporting the state government in addressing this and moving forward as well together with the other UN agencies looking for economic opportunities and skills training for young people to make them employable."
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When asked was there any noticeable improvement on the status of stateless children here, Hattingh replied there was none yet but was encouraged by the chief minister's willingness to address the issue where it is a human rights and development issue and should not just be viewed as a security issue."Before it was seen purely as a security issue and this stopped progress. Now it is seen as a development issue and there is willingness to address from it from a human rights perspective as well as it is also an economic issue as well as these children don't have access to basic education or health care which perpetuates a cycle of poverty."Now there is an opportunity to make a difference and give these children the opportunity to develop to their full potential."Hattingh said a big step would be to recognise the existing alternative learning centres and if they can be legalised then there would be more support towards them and improve the quality of education they provide. On the issue of child marriage in Malaysia, Hattingh said Unicef emphasises that 18 should be the minimum age for marriage without exception. She said legislation alone was not enough and it needs to be accompanied by other measures such as support to ensure that young people can finish their secondary education. Hattingh said there should be sexual reproductive health education also and making communities and families aware of the adverse effects of child marriage on a girl child especially and ensuring there is a social protection system to target children who are vulnerable, say of dropping out of school or child marriage and giving them opportunities so marriage is not a solution for teenage pregnancies or poverty.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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She said Shafie was receptive to the idea and has expressed the need to study the issue and come up with solutions and that Unicef was willing to support the process. - Neil ChanPhoto Source: Unicef