KUALA LUMPUR: Child advocates and civil society organisations have lauded the decision by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) that will look into the enforcement of Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOAC).
Section 19 makes it an offence for anyone who knows about sexual abuse against a child but fails to report it to the police.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Professor Dato' Noor Aziah Mohd Awal said the decision on securing protection for children in Malaysia is a good move by the government.
"We have to make sure that sexual abuse must be reported and perpetrators must be prosecuted. Those who knew and fail to report, action should be taken against them.
"Very often if the perpetrator is a husband and father to the victim, the wife or mother refuses to make police report to avoid family embarrassment.
"Many incest relationships were not reported and no family members are willing to become witnesses on the same basis," she told New Straits Times.
However, she also stressed the need of ensuring protection and safeguarding confidentiality for the witnesses as well.
"This is inline with the section 73A of the Act states on the admissibility of documentary evidence in civil cases.
"It requires the production of an original document and lays down the conditions in tendering an original document," she added.
At the same time, Childline Foundation honorary project director Datin Wong Poai Hong agreed with the government's move to protect the future of children.
"The enforcement of laws regarding sexual offences committed against children needs to be tougher and more proactive than in the past.
"This is because there are certain sexual offences that are still considered to be taboo. Even worse, if it is an incest case, there is a greater chance that it will not be reported at all," she said.
Recently, News Straits Times reported that the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) will be meeting with Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11) and court officials tomorrow on the matter.
