Child Act 2001

Child Act 2001
Parliament of Malaysia
Long title An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the care, protection and rehabilitation of children and to provide for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
Citation	Act 611
Territorial extent	Throughout Malaysia
Passed by	Dewan Rakyat
Passed	17 October 2000
Passed by	Dewan Negara
Passed	18 December 2000
Royal assent	15 February 2001
Commenced	1 March 2001
Effective	1 August 2002, P.U. (B) 229/2002
Legislative history
First chamber: Dewan Rakyat
Bill title	Child Bill 2000
Bill citation	D.R. 27/2000
Introduced by	Siti Zaharah Sulaiman, Minister of National Unity and Community Development
First reading	17 July 2000
Second reading	16 October 2000
Third reading	17 October 2000
Second chamber: Dewan Negara
Bill title	Child Bill 2000
Bill citation	D.R. 27/2000
Member(s) in charge	S. Veerasingam, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Unity and Community Development
First reading	6 December 2000
Second reading	18 December 2000
Third reading	18 December 2000
Amended by
Child (Modification) Order 2003 [P.U. (A) 7/2003]
Related legislation
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Juvenile Courts Act 1947 [Act 90] Women and Girls Protection Act 1973 [Act 106] Child Protection Act 1991 [Act 468]
Keywords
Child protection, child development
Status: In force

The Child Act 2001 (Malay: Akta Kanak-Kanak 2001) is a Malaysian law which served to consolidate the Juvenile Courts Act 1947 [Act 90], the Women and Girls Protection Act 1973 [Act 106], and the Child Protection Act 1991 [Act 468].^[1] It was enacted partially in order to fulfil Malaysia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, it retains the option of corporal punishment for child offenders.^[2] In December 2004, members of the legal community suggested that the law needed review, despite its newness, in order to clarify its criminal procedures.^[3] One example of the Act's unclarity was brought to light in a 2007 case involving a 13-year-old convicted of murder. Under Section 97(1) of the Act, capital punishment may not be applied to children; Sections 97(2), 97(3), and 97(4) make provisions for alternative punishments for offences which would result in the death penalty if committed by adults, namely detention at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. However, Section 97(2) was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2007 on the grounds that it violated the Constitution of Malaysia's doctrine of separation of powers, leading to the situation that no punishment at all could be rendered.^[2]

The Act was meant to give further protection to child offenders.^[4] There are, however, a number of shortcomings missing from the Act. Besides the uncertainty of detention period under Section 97, another omission is the maximum length of the remand order. For an adult offender, Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for a maximum of 14 days remand. Section 84(2) of the Child Act simply allows the court to make a remand order without prescribing the maximum length of remand. This problem was subsequently remedied in a 2003 case which held that the Criminal Procedure Code would govern the remand period of a child.

With regard to the trial procedure, an adult accused has the option to give a sworn evidence, unsworn evidence, or remain silent. The Child Act does not provide for any right to remain silent. Section 90(9) merely allows the child to give sworn or unsworn evidence.