When we were helming the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development from 2018 to February 2020, all efforts were being made towards the setting up of an Agency for Children. We have discovered that the Department of Social Welfare (“JKM”) is severely overloaded with work and lacks the capacity to efficiently manage a broad spectrum of clients/issues namely welfare, children, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and the homeless.
A comprehensive study was done on the workload of JKM and discussions were held to discuss the fastest way to establish an Agency for Children. We have found that the existing Child Protectors and Psychology Officers are being stretched beyond their abilities to do follow up on cases involving children.
Ever since the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) has been implemented, JKM has been giving the extra duty to distribute food to affected areas, distribute food donated by NGOs and supervise quarantine centres. When a national crisis like this descends upon the JKM, all their manpower would be mobilised and that includes Child Protectors going out to distribute food too. This would mean that work involving rescue of children and other related services would be affected.
This MCO brings along with it many consequences including but not limited to childcare arrangement for frontliners, urgent childcare arrangement for parents being quarantined, operations and survival of TASKA, follow up of cases involving abused children being returned home to their family, domestic violence, feeding of hungry children and many others. We have entered the 3rd week of MCO yet very little has been heard concerning the above from the Minister and her Deputy apart from their promotion of #WanitaCegahCovid19 hashtag.
I urge the Minister and her Deputy to ensure:
(i) basic services involving children are given priority by JKM as most violation on children can be fatal if ignored; and
(ii) the respective Child Protectors and Psychology Officers must be relieved immediately from other additional responsibilities imposed on them.
The 30% children population in Malaysia must be fiercely protected and everyday they continue to be exposed to all kinds of harm (not just Covid-19!). I hope that all prior discussion and planning for the establishment of the Agency for Children will not be shelved. This Covid-19 MCO experience is indeed the most compelling evidence that this Agency for Children is no longer just a good-to-have option and must be expedited.