Hanoi:Protect and Save The Children Malaysia (PS the Children) has welcomed the government's initiative to enhance police capabilities against online child sexual exploitation, as outlined in Budget 2027, while urging for dedicated and transparent funding for child protection measures.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the non-governmental organization emphasized the importance of pairing investments in detection with preventative measures, encouraging reporting, and supporting survivors. Amnani Abdul Kadir, the executive director of PS the Children, highlighted the significance of upgrading the Royal Malaysia Police's (PDRM) D11 division, which deals with sexual crimes involving women and children, as a crucial step towards preventing further abuse.
PS the Children expressed gratitude to the government for prioritizing online child sexual exploitation and acknowledged the upgrade of D11's detection capability as a critical investment. However, they stressed that technology alone is insufficient to protect children who may not recognize abuse or have a safe person to confide in. The organization called for equal funding for prevention, reporting, and recovery efforts.
The organization urged the government to make public the dedicated allocations for child protection, which should include funding for D11, the Children's Commissioner, and child protection services under the Social Welfare Department (JKM), to enable monitoring of annual progress. Additionally, PS the Children advocated for compulsory, age-appropriate online safety education for children, parents, and teachers to help them identify online grooming, sextortion, and image-based abuse, and to understand how to report these incidents.
Furthermore, PS the Children called for accountability measures for digital platforms under the Online Safety Act to ensure the swift removal of child sexual abuse material and the detection of grooming behavior. On the matter of support for survivors, the organization pushed for increased investment in trauma-informed counseling, child-friendly courts, and specialist investigators in every state. They also emphasized the need for strengthened background checks for caregivers, teachers, and coaches working with children, along with the introduction of a new caregiver training program.
PS the Children expressed its readiness to collaborate with the government, enforcement agencies, schools, digital platforms, and civil society to ensure that the Budget measures lead to better protection for children, quicker access to justice, and real recovery for survivors.
Among the key child protection measures outlined in Budget 2027, presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who also serves as Finance Minister, is an allocation of nearly RM3.3 billion for the JKM. The budget includes upgrading PDRM's Malaysia Internet Crime Against Children (MICAC) system with advanced analytics and providing a RM100 million matching grant from Yayasan Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) and Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) to bolster the childcare ecosystem and train 6,000 caregivers in over 50 new areas across nine states.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is also set to intensify its Safe Internet Campaign in schools nationwide, focusing on cyberbullying and child exploitation. Budget 2027 further emphasizes the Anti-Bullying Act, the Online Safety Act, a strengthened role for the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Children's Commissioner, and reforms to criminal and evidence laws to provide more effective protection for victims, children, and vulnerable groups.