Foreign Ministry must ensure children's welfare - MCA

The MCA Social Development Committee has urged the Foreign Ministry to ensure the welfare of Malaysian Tourism Malaysia director Azizul Raheem Awalludin's children and take immediate steps in allowing them to meet with their relatives.

Azizul and Shalwati Nurshal’s children, aged between 7 and 14, are currently placed with a non-Muslim family.

“We hope that the Malaysian embassy in Sweden will work towards taking care of the children or identifying a Muslim foster family for the children to stay with in order to protect the religious rights and needs of the children.

"At the same time, we also urge the Malaysian government to seek an appropriate conduit to bail out the children’s’ parents and to urge Sweden to conduct the trial as soon as possible,” said its Chairman Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

She also wanted the Malaysian government to provide a solution from the legal perspective for the family as based on Swedish laws, parents will lose custody of their children even if the parents are acquitted.

“Although we understand that the Swedish authorities are acting based on their own laws, but the rights of the children to meet with their relatives must be ensured. As a child’s welfare and interest is the government’s responsibility, and in this incident has clearly resulted due to different cultures and understanding of laws, we hope that the Malaysian government can handle this issue based on the children’s basic rights to meet with their relatives,” she added.

She also urged the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to take the lead by setting up a special task force and to send their personnel to follow the developments in Sweden.

“They should also work together with the Foreign Ministry to provide the Malaysian embassy with professional guidance and assistance. A child’s welfare cannot be compromised and an immediate solution should be reached for this issue instead of continuing to delay it,” she said.

In an earlier report, the oldest child of the couple, 14-year-old Aishah had asked to be put under the care of Malay Muslim family from Malaysia whilst in foster care.

She made the statement when she was allowed to meet with the Malaysian embassy representative and Swedish social workers recently.