Consult stakeholders on changes to child Act: Lam Thye
Published on: Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development has been urged to engage parents, NGOs and civil society before bringing the final draft legislation of the Child Act 2001 to Parliament for approval.Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation Vice Chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said all relevant stakeholders must be consulted and the introduction of any legislation must not be done in haste."The views of all parties concerned must be heard and evaluated before the government decides on the final draft of the proposed amendments to the Child Act or to come out with new legislation.ADVERTISEMENT Lee said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim had indicated that the proposed amendments to the Child Act 2001 might include punishment for parents or those who cane and whip their children although she has later clarified the matter."Bringing up children requires parental skills as well proper education in schools where teachers have an important role to play. Corporal punishment may not be the best solution to discipline a child in schools," he said in a statement here Monday.Lee said counselling, empathy, reasoning and rationalising with problematic children were most desirable. "This is where skills are required and not every parent can do it. This is why parenting skills must be acquired and parents who need such skills must make time for it," he said.ADVERTISEMENT But there are parents who argue that there are children who cannot be easily disciplined with the soft approach and the cane is necessary, he said.He said that to those parents caning at home for the sake of discipline and explaining to the child why this was done should not be equated to child abuse, which constitutes a criminal offence.
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He said the Ministry concerned also needs to hear this group of parents who obviously are unhappy with any move to jail parents who use the cane on their children."Such concern is not without basis and they should be given a hearing."As for caning of minors in courts, such corporal punishment should be abolished in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of which Malaysia is a signatory," he said. Lee said the proposal would certainly generate debate among parents as to whether this is the proper way to bring up children."There are still those in our midst who believe in the time-tested axiom of "Spare the rod and spoil the child"."When I was in school the rod was often used to discipline school children and that was even true of parents who wanted to do the same for their children at home," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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According to the Minister, the amendment to criminalise corporal punishment involving children was to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of which Malaysia is a signatory."I am of the view that any amendments to any law (Child Act 2001) or any proposal to introduce any new legislation pertaining to children must be done with the utmost caution as the consequences are far-reaching and will affect the interests and future of children and their families," he said.