Speaking out

young Malaysians share their thoughts on corporal punishment and the effect it could possibly have on children.

APINCH here and a smack there – yes, that is how most of our parents deal with us when we misbehave. So imagine the nation’s surprise when a Malaysian couple was arrested in Sweden late last year for doing exactly what most parents (and children) think is the norm – to use corporal punishment as way of disciplining unruly kids.

The couple is currently on trial in Stockholm for gross violation of a child’s integrity, by hitting and abusing their children and under the Section 4A, Chapter 4 (on crimes against liberty and peace) of the Swedish Penal Code, could face between six months and six years in prison for each charge.

Go to prison for “disciplining” a child? But isn’t corporal punishment an accepted way to discipline children?

According to the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia, corporal punishment is a method of disciplining children in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child’s unacceptable behaviour and/or inappropriate language.

The immediate aims of such punishment are usually to halt the offence, prevent its recurrence and set an example for others. The ultimate long-term goal is to change the child’s behaviour and to make it more consistent with the adult’s expectations.

Although corporal punishment is lawful in Malaysia in three areas – home, schools and the penal system – abuse is not tolerated in Malaysian law.

Here we have young people sharing their thoughts on corporal punishment, whether they believe it is an effective method and if they were subjected to it when they were younger.