Leaving children without reasonable care and supervision: Between law and reality in Malaysia

Parents and guardians have a moral as well as a legal duty to exercise reasonable care and supervision on their children. Unfortunately, whether we realize it or not, there are several acts and omissions committed by these parents or guardians which are detrimental to the child concerned. One such omission is where the child is left without any reasonable care and supervision by his or her parents or guardian. Data and reports show that there are a number of reported cases of children being left without reasonable care and supervision which have resulted in casualties. Most of these reported cases show that the children were either trapped in their own houses or cars as a result of being locked from the outside by their parents or guardian. Due to the increase in the number of such cases, the legislature has made leaving children without reasonable care and supervision by the parents or guardian an offence under the Child Act 2001. Although it is an offence to leave children without reasonable care and supervision, it is sad to note that there are still cases where children are being left unattended for various reasons. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to examine the abovementioned problem as well as to look at the same from the perception of the respondents based on the research that has been conducted

Court advisers in Malaysia : a ‘Neglected’ component of the court for children?

The court advisers are not a new component in the criminal justice system, especially in cases involving children. In most jurisdictions in the world, the court advisers (as known in Malaysia) or social workers/panel of advisers in other countries, are a component that was introduced to assist the judicial officer in determining a proper and suitable order for the child offenders. In Malaysia, children who have committed offences will be brought before the Court For Children (formerly known as the Juvenile Court). The Magistrate that presides the court will be assisted by two appointed court advisers. Although they comprise laymen without any legal qualification, their roles are recognised as equally important because they are the ones who are going to advise the Magistrate based on their knowledge and experience in dealing with children. In other words, the court advisers are a component that must exist in a trial so that a properly instituted quorum is constituted. The court advisers are introduced in the Juvenile Justice System for a reason. The court shall make sure that the court advisers are called and present throughout the trial. The court in the case of Public Prosecutor v Ayasamy [1955] 1 MLJ 64 highlighted this point more than 60 years ago. The logic is very simple, how can court advisers offer proper advice without attending the trial? Thus, in this article, the writers will explore the importance of making sure that the court advisers are present in the Court For Children trials. At the same time, the writers will also explore if there has been any development in the role and functions of the court advisers in Malaysia post the decision in the case of Public Prosecutor v Ayasamy. The reason being, more than six decades after the said case, the same issue was raised in the High Court’s decision in the case of Pendakwa Raya v Mohd Zairul Iman Zainon [2018] MLJU 578

Ensuring the well-being of the elderly: revisiting the role and adequacy of social protection schemes in Malaysia and the Philippines

Globally, social protection schemes are considered as effective tools in ensuring the well-being of the poor, disempowered and otherwise marginalised people of society. It is applicable in cases of elderly people who are comparatively vulnerable due to their old age, and at times poverty or the lack of financial security.The proportion of elderly people in poverty is higher than that in the working age population, indicating the increasing likelihood of people falling into poverty as they leave or retire from the workforce. Therefore, one way of addressing poverty among the elderly is through social protection mechanisms. Malaysia and the Philippines are two Southeast Asian countries on their way to becoming ageing nations. As such, both these countries have already adopted numerous social protection schemes to ensure the well-being of the marginalised segments of society, including the elderly. Thus, based on existing literature, this paper is an attempt to revisit and re-examine the role and adequacy of existing social protection schemes available in Malaysia and the Philippines

A critical analysis of the statutory framework on maintenance of non-muslim children and young persons in Malaysia / Sridevi Thambapillay

A family unit is the basic unit in a society. The collapse of a family unit will ultimately lead to the collapse of the society. In a family unit comprising of a man, his wife and child, the child is the most vulnerable person, as he has to depend on his parents for his survival. The parents have a responsibility towards the child, one of which is to maintain the child. The parents have a legal as well as a moral duty to maintain their child. Breach of the moral duty will not attract any penalties whereas breach of a legal duty would. In Malaysia, there are two systems of maintenance laws:- one for the Muslims and one for the non-Muslims. This thesis, as the title states, examines the non-Muslim maintenance laws. There are about five maintenance laws, which are in force currently for the non-Muslims

Ensuring the well-being of the elderly: Revisiting the role and adequacy of social protection schemes in Malaysia and the Philippines

Globally, social protection schemes are considered as effective tools in ensuring the well-being of the poor, disempowered and otherwise marginalised people of society. It is applicable in cases of elderly people who are comparatively vulnerable due to their old age, and at times poverty or the lack of financial security. The proportion of elderly people in poverty is higher than that in the working age population, indicating the increasing likelihood of people falling into poverty as they leave or retire from the workforce. Therefore, one way of addressing poverty among the elderly is through social protection mechanisms. Malaysia and the Philippines are two Southeast Asian countries on their way to becoming ageing nations. As such, both these countries have already adopted numerous social protection schemes to ensure the well-being of the marginalised segments of society, including the elderly. Thus, based on existing literature, this paper is an attempt to revisit and re-examine the role and adequacy of existing social protection schemes available in Malaysia and the Philippines

Consumer Harms Arising From The Competition Dynamic Of E-Commerce Platforms In Malaysia

The structure of the digital market of e-commerce platforms is dynamic, with a combination of characteristics such as strong network effects, concentrated multi-sided platforms, extreme economies of scale and scope, low marginal costs, and high data returns. These strong network externalities within the multisided e-commerce market make the competitive environment in e-commerce significantly different from the conventional monogamous market as they create gatekeeper positions favouring a few incumbent e-commerce platforms. In these circumstances, gatekeeper incumbent e-commerce platforms often set commercial conditions that have the effect of undermining other players and potential rivals within the ecosystem. In this regard, there has been a trend of raising concerns globally on the inability of the conventional competition law framework to appreciate the extent of consumer harm arising thereto. Further, with the increasing trend in e-commerce, the potential harms arising thereon affect the market and particularly the individual end-user consumers in many ways, such as price discrimination. This research employs a doctrinal research method, wherein the primary data is obtained through systematic content analysis based on relevant reports and articles. This research identifies the consumer harms in the e-commerce platforms market based on theoretical analysis of competition law and consumer protection law focusing on digital market characteristics