COMMENT: RCI necessary to restore confidence in child protection services

THE ongoing child sexual abuse scandal has shocked the nation, and it has shaken many of us working in child protection under civil society organisations (CSOs).

The duration and scale of the abuse by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) is horrendous. It will take many months to uncover the full scope of the abuse and the possibly 1,000s of children who have been severely traumatised over decades.

We hope attempts will also be made to identify children who have previously been in their facilities and offer them the support they need.

Of serious concern is the lack of oversight and action by the very agencies that we have hoped to be child protectors – the Welfare Department and the police.

We now hear that such a vast business infrastructure has not even paid taxes, raising concerns about the Inland Revenue Board (IRB)’s abilities. It is as though government agencies have had a decades-long blind spot when it came to GISBH.

A blind spot that placed thousands of children into a deep dark hell. This may also be true for other organisations in the country.

This child sexual abuse scandal, and other incidents before this, highlight the large deficits in our child protection services.

Although this scandal involves a religious body, the issue is primarily one of child protection.

As CSOs, we have often been expressing our concerns about our weak and inadequate child protection services. This scandal has shown that they cannot be allowed to continue as it is, and need a complete overhaul.

We support the call from Dr Farah Nini Dusuki, Children’s Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

Only the RCI can restore confidence in our child protection services. Such an RCI should look not just at the disaster involving our services in relation to GISBH, but all aspects of child protection.

Our child protection services require an independent audit, a transparent assessment of weaknesses and limitations, suggestions for reform with a workable way forward.

The RCI should involve civil societies and be fully available to the public.

Upon completion of the RCI, the findings must be tabled and debated in the next meeting of Parliament, because the care and protection of children must be depoliticised and requires an ‘all-of-society’ approach.

The GISBH child sexual abuse scandal is a ‘line in the sand’. This is not a two-week media cycle issue.

Our child protection services cannot continue as they are. The fact that the Welfare Department and the police have yet to take any responsibility, is disheartening.

If there is no meaningful action and reform, then we will continue to fail our children – endlessly.

We appeal to our members of Parliament to support the RCI and be advocates for our children.

The government has overlooked the calls for establishing an independent Children’s Commission accountable to Parliament.

Creating a Children’s Department under the Welfare Department does not address any of the existing challenges or concerns. Essentially, this is merely a rebranding of an inadequate and inefficient service, while children continue to endure hardship.

We also ask that the government urgently relook at the Child Commission Bill.

Any and every space that a child is in must be a safe space.

We must restore public confidence in our child protection agencies.

Only an independent RCI, with comprehensive reform, will do this.

* The opinions expressed in this article are the writers’ own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper.

Signatories:

1. Dato Dr Amar-Singh HSS, consultant paediatrician, child-disability activist
2. Sharmila Sekaran, Voice of the Children
3. CRIB Foundation (Child Rights Innovation and Betterment)
4. The Talisman Project
5. Yayasan Chow Kit
6. Malaysian Association of Social Workers
7. Association of Women Lawyers (AWL)
8. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang
9. Anisa Ahmad, child activist
10. Pusat Jagaan Kanak Kanak Vivekananda Rembau NS
11. Johor Women’s League (JEWEL)
12. Voice of the Children (VoC)
13. End CSEC Network
14. Protect and Save the Children
15. Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia
16. Childline Foundation
17. Toy Libraries Malaysia
18. Persatuan Untuk Anak Kita (PUAKPayong)
19. Pertubuhan Amal Rumah Melor (Meru, Klang)
20. Purple Lily Social Association Kuching
21. World Vision Malaysia
22. Montessori Association Malaysia
23. Play Unlimited
24. Malaysian Hindu Dharma Association
25. Kasthuri Krishnan, lawyer
26. Women’s Aid Org (WAO)
27. Vanguards4Change
28. ReHAK (Reproductive Health Association of Kelantan)
29. Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS)
30. Lawyer Kamek
31. The OKU Rights Matter Project
32. Wong Hui Min, president of National Early Childhood Intervention Council (NECIC)
33. San Yuenwah, The OKU Rights Matter Project
34. Azira Aziz, lawyer
35. Wilhelmina Mowe, individual
36. Dr Wong Woan Yiing, consultant paediatrician
37. Sabah Women’s Action-Resource Group (SAWO)
38. Kong Lan Lee, director of Persuatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Kajang Selangor
39. HOST International Foundation, Malaysia
40. NGOhub
41. Asia Community Service
42. Kuching Association of Talent Development and Welfare of Special Needs
43. Associate Professor Dr Wan Puspa Melati Wan Halim, clinical sociologist
44. Malaysian Collaborative Practice Group (MCPG)
45. Michelle Lai, chairperson of New Horizons Society Ipoh
46. HumanKind
47. Murugeswaran Veerasamy, Damai Disabled Person Association Malaysia
48. Malaysian Rare Disorders Society (MRDS)
49. Persatuan WeCareJourney
50. Association for Children with Special Needs Sibu
51. Prof Dr Toh Teck Hock, consultant paediatrician
52. Maizan Mohd Salleh, founder and president of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Albinism Association
53. Ng Lai-Thin, project lead of National Early Childhood Intervention Council (NECIC)
54. Sisters in Islam
55. Deaf Advocacy and Wellbeing National Organisation Malaysia
56. Dr Anthony Chong, deaf individual and advocate
57. Cassandra Sii, director of SPICES Early Intervention Centre
58. Family Frontiers