PETALING JAYA, May 8 — The authorities had agreed on a registry for sex offenders from as far back as 20 years ago but no real action had been taken to create it.
Suara Rintihan Kanak-Kanak (Suriana) chairman James Nayagam, who is a Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner, remembers attending a series of meetings where the registry was on the agenda in 1995.
Attending them as the founder of a children’s shelter, he said, the registry was discussed as part of the drafting of the Child Bill, following Malaysia’s signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in December the previous year.
“We discussed collecting data on child abusers, and having a list of names of those convicted of child abuses and sex offenders so there can be background checks to prevent them from working with children,” he said.
“A tracking system was also proposed, where the offender would wear a tracking bracelet because we didn’t want them to go anywhere near children in case they repeat their crimes.”
He said the meetings were top-level meetings which included the police and directors of relevant ministries and departments such as the Welfare Department and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“We all agreed these were best practices, but there was no implementation,” he said.
Nayagam said it could not be determined which ministry or department would be responsible.
“It is a question of who would own the system. If we want to place trackers, who would manage them?” he asked.
“Someone must own it, and there must be budget allocations. It was not given any priority.”
He said similar meetings were conducted every time a high-profile case occurred.
Voice of the Children chairman Sharmila Sekaran said the need to address the issue went beyond just having a registry, as it also needed to address what happened to convicted offenders once they had served their sentences.
“Will they need to regularly report to the police in the vicinity? Is there an obligation to inform the community within a certain radius? How do you prevent vigilantes?” she asked.
She said there were no preventive measures for offenders from repeating their crimes.
Sekaran opined Malaysia lacked the political will to address the matter. However, she was hopeful the government would move forward following Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin’s child pornography conviction in the United Kingdom.
Childline Malaysia steering committee member Datin PH Wong said while the government was responsible for implementing the registry, it was also the public’s responsibility to stress the importance of protecting children.
“We have recommended a registry many times. The government needs to take a serious look at this and the entire issue of child protection,” she said.
“But it is not solely the government’s job. It is the public’s responsibility as well.
“The public needs to stand up and say that this has to stop. The whole community needs to be responsible.”
