A proposed provision under the new Child Act will make sure that children can still be punished by caning, under certain conditions.
The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry said the new law would lay out clearer provisions on actions which cause physical or mental injuries to children, including caning and other forms of corporal punishment.
“The ministry is studying and scrutinising the proposal so that the legislation will cover all acts against children causing physical and emotional injuries deemed as criminal offences which could be punishable with heftier imprisonment or fines.
“Besides, the ministry is also considering alternative punishment such as community service or counselling or parenting courses,” the ministry said in a statement released by its corporate communications unit, as quoted by The Malay Mail Online.
The ministry’s move to propose the new provision is to bolster its earlier proposal to abolish Section 91(1)(g) of the Child Act 2001, which allows the courts to sentence children to caning on conviction.
Yesterday, several news portals reported that Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim as saying the caninng of children would be a criminal offence under the new legislation meant to replace the Child Act 2001.
The reports prompted several quarters to ask for the minister’s clarification on the matter, and to ask the ministry to reconsider the proposal.
The ministry explained that its decision to propose the abolishment of caning as a punishment for children under the Malaysian legal system was in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
“At the same time, Section 91(1)(g) of the Child Act 2001 allows a male child to be sentenced to caning not more than 10 strokes if found guilty of criminal offences. On this, caning in court is different from caning in the house or in school.
“Caning in court is carried out according to procedures set by law. However, based on psychological development in line with CRC, the ministry proposes to abolish the punishment,” the statement said.
