Coalition for Children’s Rights Demands Answers After Nursing Home Raid

According to the Child Rights Coalition Malaysia, the failure to provide for the welfare of such a large group of children underscores the dire state of care provided in many shelters and health facilities. (File photo)

PETALING JAYA: The Child Development Department has been called in to investigate child protection officers, authorities and staff overseeing the 20 nursing homes searched by police on Wednesday.

A total of 402 children aged between one and 17 were rescued after police raided 20 nursing homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

According to police, 13 of these children were victims of sodomy, while others were physically and emotionally abused.

The Child Rights Coalition Malaysia (CRCM) said in a statement that the failure to provide for the welfare of such a large group of children in its care highlights the dire state of care in many shelters and care centres in Malaysia.

The statement, signed by 52 organisations and individuals, said many shelters and care centres in Malaysia are unlicensed and have insufficient and untrained staff, including child protectors without the relevant qualifications, expertise and experience in social work within the social welfare department.

“This is further hampered by the unwillingness of the Department of Social Services to engage relevant Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to work collaboratively and effectively to prevent, mitigate and address child sexual exploitation and abuse in alternative care settings and marginalised communities,” CRCM said.

“The Care Centres Act 1993 and associated regulations only provide minimum standards to which all care centres must comply.

“But with only 2,134 care centres registered with the Department of Social Welfare, there is no doubt that thousands more are illegal and susceptible to risky care arrangements.

“This tragic situation underscores the urgent need for stricter oversight and regular audits of registered and unregistered institutional care facilities across the country to prevent such atrocities from happening again in the future.”

CRCM also called on Nancy Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, to collaborate with reputable NGOs specializing in child protection and alternative care to ensure that children have safe spaces, trauma support and long-term solutions for their well-being.

CRCM also urged the authorities to conduct a situation analysis of the social services provided by the Department of Child Development, other ministries and civil society organizations to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Recommendations should also be made to improve care arrangements for children in alternative care settings.

The government last month officially established the Department of Child Development, an agency under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.

In a Bernama report on August 6, Nancy said the department was established to expand delivery systems at community and institution levels and to address child safety and welfare, particularly abuse and neglect.

Nancy said the department will have its own enforcement officers tasked with handling specific cases involving children, adding that this is intended to help clear the backlog of cases currently being handled by the social services department.