KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said today the government is looking to establish a Children’s Department under her ministry.
Siti Zailah admitted to a question from Datuk Seri Azalina Othman (Pengerang-BN) that there is a lack of officers assigned to the current Children’s Unit under the Social Welfare Department, leading to the restructuring.
“I hope we could understand that this involved discussion with other departments and agencies.
“As such, we need more time before we can establish the timeline,” she told Dewan Rakyat during the Question Time today.
Azalina had earlier said she was notified that there are currently only five officers in the department compared to the population of 9.24 million children in the country.
“If there are only five officers, does that mean an officer has to take care of 1.88 million children?” she asked.
In August, Siti Zailah’s predecessor Hannah Yeoh had called for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to create a new ministry specifically to look after the needs of the children in the country as soon as possible.
The Segambut MP said Ismail needs to establish a Ministry of Children as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and amplified the weaknesses of Malaysia’s system to adequately protect children.
