Farah Nini Dusuki
While the government of Malaysia was undergoing its review by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on 22–23 January in Geneva, the children’s commissioners present were informed on 23 January that a 16-year-old girl who had been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) had been released by the police.
The child had been detained since 14 January in connection with investigations under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
The office of the children’s commissioner of the Malaysian human rights commission, Suhakam, welcomes the child’s release. However, it must be stated unequivocally that the detention should never have occurred in the first place.
The apprehension and detention of the child were not in compliance with the Child Act 2001. Section 84 of this act requires that a child be brought before a court for children within 24 hours of arrest – a requirement that was not met.
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Further, Section 83(1) expressly provides that the Child Act prevails over all other laws relating to the arrest, detention and trial of children. This overriding safeguard was disregarded, resulting in a clear violation of the child’s rights.
In addition, the placement of the child in a lock-up together with adult female detainees contravenes Section 85(a) of the act and breaches Article 37(c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which requires that children be detained separately from adults and treated in a manner appropriate to their age.
The office of the children’s commissioner is also deeply concerned that the child was denied the safeguards provided under Section 13(2)(a) and (b) of Sosma. As a child and female, she ought to have been granted bail rather than subjected to Sosma’s 28-day pre-charge detention under Section 4(5).
This concern is further reinforced by Article 37(b) of the CRC, which stipulates that the detention of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
The child’s detention for close to 10 days, which reportedly resulted in health complications, constitutes a violation of the child’s best interests under Article 3 of the CRC.
The office of the children’s commissioner’s position is clear and unequivocal: children must not be detained under Sosma. As the act permits detention without trial, it is fundamentally incompatible with child rights standards.
Any provision allowing for the detention of children under Sosma should be repealed in its entirety.
In the light of Malaysia’s recent review by the committee on the rights of the child, during which the government reaffirmed its commitment to prioritising the protection, development and participation of children, this commitment cannot be meaningfully realised unless Sosma is amended to expressly exclude its application to children. – Suhakam
Dr Farah Nini Dusuki is chief children’s commissioner at Suhakam.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
