Sosma vs Child Act: Children’s Commissioner demands total ban on detaining minors

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Malaysia’s Children’s Commissioner has condemned the recent detention of a 16-year-old girl under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), saying this “should never have occurred” and was a clear violation of the Child Act 2001.

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) welcomed the girl’s release on January 23 after nearly ten days in custody but stressed that her initial arrest and detention were not in compliance with Malaysian law.

The girl was detained on January 14 in connection with an anti-trafficking investigation.

The OCC pointed out that under Section 84 of the Child Act, a child must be brought before a Court for Children within 24 hours of arrest, a requirement that was not met in this case.

It said in a statement that the Child Act is supposed to prevail over all other laws concerning the detention of minors.

The Commissioner also raised other serious breaches of the child’s rights. It was noted that the girl was placed in a lock-up with adult female detainees, a direct contravention of both the Child Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Furthermore, she was denied specific safeguards within Sosma that should have allowed for bail, subjecting her instead to the Act’s harsh pre-charge detention provisions.

“The OCC’s position is clear and unequivocal: children must not be detained under Sosma,” the statement read, arguing that any provision allowing for the detention of children under the Act should be repealed entirely as it is “fundamentally incompatible with child rights standards.”

The strong rebuke comes just as the Malaysian government was undergoing its review by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, where it had reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children.

The OCC argued this commitment “cannot be meaningfully realised” unless Sosma is amended to expressly exclude its application to children.

Yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in a  written parliamentary reply that amendments to Sosma should be tabled during the next meeting of Parliament starting in June.