Experts call for balanced child justice system, prioritising rehabilitation with accountability
August 19, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s child justice system must prioritise rehabilitation to give young offenders a second chance, but experts say this effort must be paired with accountability measures to prevent bullying from escalating into repeat or serious crimes.
Criminal law expert Datuk Shanmugan Ganesan said the Child Act 2001 had rightly placed rehabilitation at the core of dealing with child offenders, yet the current framework risked being inadequate when addressing persistent or severe bullying cases.
“While Malaysia’s juvenile justice framework as set out under the Child Act 2001 rightly prioritises the rehabilitation of young offenders, there is growing concern that this approach, when applied in isolation, may not be sufficiently effective in addressing persistent or severe cases of bullying.
“Bullying has evolved beyond school discipline issues, with elements such as physical aggression, intimidation, extortion and repeated psychological harm increasingly overlapping with offences under the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” he said.