KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 ― The government today warned parents who refuse to vaccinate their offspring that they risk being prosecuted for child abuse.

The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry reminded the anti-vaccination movement that punishments under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001 for those who abuse, neglect, abandon, or expose a child in such a way that will likely cause physical or emotional injury, were enhanced under a 2015 amendment.

The amendment, which was passed by both the lower and upper houses of Parliament, will see offenders face a maximum imprisonment of 20 years or maximum fines of RM50,000.

"If parents’ refusal in giving vaccination and immunisation jabs is the cause of the spread of diseases that endanger the health and lives of their children, it can be considered as an act of child abuse,” said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry added that the Child Act (Amendment) 2015 was currently in the process of gazettement and enforcement.

The anti-vaccination movement, where parents oppose immunisations of their children on religious grounds, has been blamed for the resurgence of preventable diseases like diphtheria, measles and whooping cough.

Five people, including three children under the age of 10, recently died from diphtheria, while the number of measles cases in Malaysia jumped by 340 per cent to 873 cases as of the first week of June compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the Health Ministry.

Local daily the New Straits Times recently reported Family Medicine Specialists Association of Malaysia president Dr Norsiah Ali as saying that the number of parents who refused to vaccinate their children increased from 470 cases in 2013 to 1,054 cases as of May last year.