Child Act (Amendment) 2016 gazetted today

The Child Act (Amendment) 2016 with four main amendments - child registry, community service order (CSO), a family-based care and heavier penalty - was gazetted today after obtaining the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said the ministry would conduct an awareness campaign to ensure that the public and all agencies were ready before the act would be enforced.

"This is good news for the ministry after three years, and various meetings were made to improve the act and taking into account current issues related to paedophilia etc," she told reporters at the ministry's Aidilfitri gathering, here today.

She said the child registry would now contain records of convicts who committed crimes against children to allow screenings to be conducted on individuals working with children as an added safety measure.

Meanwhile the CSO is a rehabilitation program for children who are involved in crime and adult offenders including the mother, father and guardians who abuse or neglect their children.

She said the amendment was also to determine the fines and enable prison sentences to be raised to RM50,000 and 20 years for offences under Section 31.