A nation awash with pride
» REPORTS ON PAGES 10 & 12; PICTURES
THE best National Day gift we can give our children is to uphold their rights as children, to be granted citizenship, to live the life of a child, the right to education, healthcare and nutrition, and protected by love in this era of Malaysia Baru.
The nation yesterday celebrated its 61st National Day with participation by Malaysian from all walks of life.
I would like to dedicate this historic National Day celebration to the children of Malaysia.
The nation was shocked in June when an 11-year-old Thai girl married a 41-year-old man from Gua Musang, Kelantan.
Following that came media coverage of children being victims of trafficking, sexual violence, rape, incest and being married off as child brides or child grooms.
We have thousands of stateless children born out of wedlock to refugees, children who grow up on the streets, and even children in foster homes, all of whom will grow up to be stateless adults.
Stateless children are often subjected to bureaucratic nonsense, which will deny them the right to education (in spite of provisions in the law allowing them to do so), healthcare and the right to be protected from harm and danger, such as being married off at a young age.
Little and large Napoleons continue to dictate whether children are allowed to attend school. We must stop attempts to toy with the future of these children.
For this reason, I call on the Home Ministry to grant citizenship to children in foster homes when they reach the age of 4, if they have not been adopted, to allow them to go to school, like all children born in Malaysia.
All citizenship approvals for children must be expedited to prevent them from feeling unwanted.
As far as child marriages is concerned, even with reforms in the civil law through the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, Islamic Family Law Enactments of the States for Muslims in Syariah courts, and native customary laws in Sabah and Sarawak, criminalising child marriages and penalising parents who give consent to their children to get married will not prevent the practice if there is no effort and participation from society.
We must work with the government to end child marriages.
I propose a moratorium on marriage applications through these three legal provisions, until amendments to the law to fix 18 as the minimum age of marriage, with no exception, is passed in the Dewan Rakyat, and in state Syariah and customary bodies.
I applaud the comment by Ismail Yahya, former Terengganu chief Syariah judge, calling for the minimum age for Muslims to marry to be fixed at 18.
The Pakatan Harapan government will promote the rights of children by putting the children’s agenda in the spotlight as Malaysia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Therefore, the nation is bound to protect the rights of children.
While there are many issues surrounding the growth of children in Malaysia, the dilemma is about citizenship, which will at least guarantee that children can reap the joys of education, access to healthcare, access to nutritional food as well as protecting them.
What message will we send to our children when we place their interest first?
That we, as a government, as leaders, community chiefs and society take matters concerning children seriously and will work to ensure that no child is left behind.
The best National Day gift we can give our children is to uphold their rights as children, to be granted citizenship, the right to education, healthcare and nutrition, and surrounded by love in this era of Malaysia Baru.
Member of parliament for Batu Kawan, Penang, and Wanita DAP publicity secretary