Kota Kinabalu: Teenage marriage and pregnancy cases in Sarawak dropped by more than half after the State adopted a Whole of Nation approach to child protection, said Sabah and Sarawak Children’s Commissioner Dr Zufar Yadi Brendan Abdullah.
“We really have to go into a Whole of Nation approach. Social issues are very complex. We cannot solve it alone, nobody can do it alone in silo,” he said at the recent Child Safeguarding Conference here.
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He said Sarawak’s Social Development Council, set up in 1984, formed a dedicated committee focused on teenage pregnancy and marriage, which brought teenage pregnancy cases down from almost 4,000 to about 1,000, a drop of more than 50 per cent.
He said Sabah could draw on the same model to tackle similar social problems.
He added that teenage pregnancy among school children in Sarawak dropped by close to 60 per cent after the introduction of the Sexual Education Advocacy Awareness Programme in schools across every division, run each year at a cost of about RM1.6 million funded through the state’s Integrated Social Issue Programme.
For the record, Zufar was appointed Children’s Commissioner for Sabah and Sarawak by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, representing the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, effective June 28, 2025 and announced on Aug 2 the same year.
The appointment was recommended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and carried out at Istana Negara.
Zufar said Sarawak also has a Community Social Support Centre for children and families facing domestic difficulties, bringing social workers, police and medical support under one roof.
“There is also the Community Development Intervention Centre supporting families affected by addiction and a transit centre for children without stable housing,” he said.
He noted that three officers from Sarawak’s Ministry of Women, Early Childhood And Community Wellbeing attended the Sabah conference to learn from local efforts, and that he plans to bring Sabah’s leadership on a visit to Sarawak in September.
“My hope is very positive on Sabah, because your YBs are all so young,” he said, referring to Sabah’s Minister and Deputy Minister for women and children affairs.
On another note, he said undocumented migrant children in Sabah face higher risks of malnutrition, child marriage and child labour.
He said poverty pockets in Sabah tend to be larger due to the size of the migrant community, which can contribute to malnutrition, stunting and wasting among children.
“When we hear about pockets of poverty in Sabah, this leads to more issues,” he said, adding that poverty is also linked in some cases to child marriage and child pregnancy, though not all poor families are affected.
He pointed out child labour concerns in the International Labour Organisation that referenced Sabah and Sarawak in 2023.
“Many people say oh this is traditional, but we must remember the Convention on the Rights of the Children also specifies what child labour is,” he said, citing migrant parents who bring children to farms while working, often out of concern for their safety if left at home.
On that note, he called for stronger collective action among civil society organisations, government agencies and communities, and reminded professionals of their responsibility to report suspected abuse under the law.
“Under Section 19, professionals who come across such situations are expected to report them, as this is part of their legal responsibility,” he said, adding that this includes frontline workers such as those from clinics and hospitals.
He also called for continued political will from government leaders and greater inclusion of children’s own views when addressing issues that affect them.
“We are nothing without them. So, listen to their views, always pay attention, get their participation, and we are not going to be wrong when we address their issues.
“If there are rights of children issues and you have sent it here and there, and it has not reached anywhere, send it to our office at the Centre Point Shopping Complex, eighth floor,” he added.
