Child Act - Schools May Be Held Liable If They Hide Sexual Offences

Aug 14, 2026

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Article reporting Malaysia’s efforts to strengthen awareness of sexual offences involving children under the Child Act. It quotes the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, at the launch of the Justice on Wheels programme in Kota Kinabalu. The piece highlights that many schools were unaware of Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which may hold schools liable when they fail to report criminal cases involving children.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Child Act

Section 19 and school liability

Reasons for under-reporting

Awareness through Justice on Wheels

SEKTOR DOKUMENTASI PENDIDIKANBPPDP,Kementerian Pendidikan MalaysiaAras SB-4,Blok E8,Kompleks E,Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan62604 Putrajaya. Tel :03-88846425 Faks:03-88846284 TARIKH:27 OGOS 2025(RABU ) N.STRAITS TIMETHE STAR SINAR HARIAN # CHILD ACT Schools maybe held liableif they hideSexual offences Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and InstitutionalReform)Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said speakingat the launch oftheJustice on Wheels programme in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.BERNAMA PIC NST 278·2025 PG·8 KOTA KINABALU:The govern-ment will work with the Educa-tion Ministry to improve aware-ness of sexual offences involvingchildren,urging schools to reportall cases. Minister in the Prime Minister'sDepartment(Law and Institu-tional Reform)Datuk Seri AzalinaOthman Said said many schoolswere unaware of Section 19 of theSexual Offences Against ChildrenAct 2017,which can hold themliable for failingto report criminalcases involving children. "As for under-reporting,wewant schools to understand thatif they know about somethingbut did not report it,they will be held liable. standing ofthe reporting process,uncertainty over whether theycould intervene or doubts aboutthe accuracy of the information. "This is because our childrenare under 18 and protected underthe Child Act. "I've written to the educationShe said good laws were inef-minister.She has responded pos-fective if people did not knowitively that there must be a work-how to enforce them.ing platform between schools,"That's why in cases of sexualprincipals,headmasters and le-offences against children,the lawgal units to raise awareness ofmust be considered alongside on-Section 19,"said Azalina at theline harm,such as abuse via so-launch of the Justice on Wheelscial media platforms.programme here yesterday."What about physical abuse?InAsked about the reasons forun-schools,awareness must be givender-reporting,she said it was not only to the children,but alsolargely due to a lack of under-to school staff,"she added.

FAQs

What factors contribute to schools under-reporting cases?

A lack of understanding of how to report, uncertainty about whether they can intervene, and doubts about the accuracy of information are cited as reasons.

Aug 14, 2026

Upload by Eliana