Sexual crimes against children and children’s access to justice in the criminal justice system remain a concern for many.
Passing of amendment bill
In the recent parliamentary sitting, the Evidence of Child Witness Amendment Bill 2024 was passed. These amendments include several provisions pertaining to:
- A child’s competency to testify: A child’s evidence will be assessed just like any other witness without being judged as being unreliable only due to their age
- Removal of legal requirement of corroboration: Judges will no longer need to warn themselves of the dangers of convicting based solely on a child’s evidence. The rule of prudence and practice will instead be in place as it is for adult witnesses
- Pre-trial case management: This will now provide direction on how a child will give evidence and the type of support a child witness might need while giving testimony. The court can play a more proactive role in ensuring a better environment in which a child is able to give full testimony without fear and with support
These amendments will help improve access to justice for children. They will help give children a fair chance of being fully heard when they give evidence in an adversarial criminal justice system designed for adults.
Equally important, none of these amendments takes away any rights from the accused. The presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial of the accused are still ensured in the criminal justice system.
Challenges in implementing reforms
Kudos to the law and institutional reform minister, the Attorney General’s Chambers and other agencies for this reform. And well done to the Sexual Offences Against Children and Evidence of Child Witness Act (SOAC and EWCA) Advocacy Group for their effort.
But getting legislative reform passed is one thing. The implementation and monitoring of its effectiveness is quite another. This will be another challenge for the “Madani” (civil and compassionate) government.
The journey of a child victim through the criminal justice system is arduous. It remains a daunting prospect for many, often taking months if not years, and with no guaranteed outcome.
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara, CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a regular pledge or periodic auto-donation to Aliran
- Become an Aliran member
Reports have to be lodged. The child victim has to endure questioning during investigations into the crime. If the accused is eventually charged, the child then has to give evidence at the trial. All this is a huge undertaking, not only for the child and his or her family but also for the criminal justice system agency personnel, and there are many.
Many of those involved in the criminal justice process require training to ensure they have sufficient skills and expertise. They include police investigators, welfare officers, medical social workers, doctors, deputy public prosecutors and judges. Also required are adequate staff, facilities and equipment to ensure jobs are done efficiently and effectively. All this requires adequate funding.
Financial constraints and corruption
How we wish the Madani government had enough money! But this is not the case. Financially, the country is not in a healthy state. Part of this is because of a legacy of corruption and mismanagement of public funds.
Sadly, this will affect any plan of action for reform, including the plan to ensure better access to justice for children. This is a shame because we know we can do better.
In May, at the launch of a national anti-corruption strategy for 2024-2028, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki said the country had lost over RM277bn because of corruption from 2019 to 2023.
The new strategy is apparently a continuation of the national anti-corruption plan for 2019-2023. That plan was developed to integrate efforts in addressing issues related to governance, integrity and anti-corruption.
Chapter 2 of the new strategy (The State of Corruption – page 18) states: “The persistent leakages within ministries, Government departments, Government link companies, and statutory bodies, require urgent rectification. This is essential to ensure the optimal utilization of public’s money.”
In early July, we heard – yet again – about mismanagement of funds and poor governance. These failures, highlighted in the most recent auditor general’s report (2/2024), included problems with Mara Incorporated Sdn Bhd (Mara Inc) and the National Council of Professors (NCP).
Are we really surprised to learn that money has been mismanaged or that corporate governance principles are not fully practised? Why is this happening year after year? How long will the country be bled like this? And what will it take to stop this?
According to the MACC website, the commission made 719 arrests between from January to June – 44% of them involved public officials.
But arrests do not automatically translate to convictions. We have all seen what an uphill struggle it is to actually arrest suspects for corruption, obtain sufficient evidence to charge and convict them and, more recently, to get them to serve their full jail term and pay the full fine!
Certain quarters have even deemed the MACC’s actions as political persecutions. Questions have also been raised over the reappointment and second extension of the MACC chief’s term.
It is all too clear that fighting corruption in all its various forms requires immense political will, integrity and courage.
Despite some progress in legal reform, trust in the Madani government’s ability to deliver on promised anti-corruption and good governance reforms is declining.
Another recently raised concern is the speculation over the possibility of the Attorney General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh being appointed as a Federal Court judge and the subsequent possibility of him being appointed as the chief judge of Malaya.
This could lead to the perception of government interference in the appointment of senior judges and affect public trust in the judiciary, as highlighted by Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama).
The appointments of a new commissioner in May and a new chair in June for the Electoral Commission also sparked consternation. These actions were made without parliamentary review, contradicting promised reforms to uphold transparency and accountability.
And now we have another source of concern: the decision of the House of Representatives Speaker Johari Abdul not to vacate the seats of six former Bersatu MPs who have aligned themselves with the Madani government.
Again, this has also not done the government any favours in terms of public perception. Rather, it has shone the spotlight on several issues.
These include the failure to implement fair allocations to all constituencies. This has resulted in the possibility of opposition MPs being lured by the prospect of higher allocations for their constituencies.
Flaws in the “anti-hopping law” to prevent political defections (Article 49A of the Federal Constitution) are also apparent. These include the interpretation of the wording and the role of the Speaker. If that’s not enough, Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman’s challenge against his party expulsion in court could possibly delay the Speaker’s ruling on whether his parliamentary seat can be vacated.
The Madani government has since said they are willing to discuss tightening the anti-hopping law. Moreover, there is an opinion that the Speaker’s decision is an independent one.
However, all the players involved in this ‘game’ need to remind themselves of the purpose of the anti-hopping law and the impact of the present situation on voter confidence and trust in the democratic system.
We all agree that the country needs immediate reform and in so many different areas. No one doubts the difficult road ahead for the Madani government as reform takes time and ‘the knives are out’.
But part of pushing reform forward is having leaders of integrity, leaders who inspire confidence and trust in the public. We need leaders who can follow through on the principles they espouse on public platforms and not misuse the system at hand to stay in power. Leaders who can think and debate policy for the country. Leaders who can be trusted to do the right thing for the country and its people. A utopian dream, perhaps?
We seem to be short of such leaders, be it in the Madani government or in the opposition. When there is a deficit in trust and integrity in government and governance at a variety of levels, the road to reform is going to be much longer.
Hence, now more than ever, we need civil society to keep up the pressure for reform, highlighting gaps and flaws, as painful and as disappointing as it may be. We need to ensure that promises for reforms are kept and that the change the country needs and that many of us long for will come – slowly, but surely.
It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your actions. But if you do nothing, there will be no result. – Mahatma Gandhi
Prema Devaraj
Co-editor, Aliran newsletter
21 July 2024
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
