Unified approach to beat child sex crimes

The Star

29-07-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: An inter-agency and cross-ministerial effort will be taken to combat the issue of child sex abuse cases, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
The Deputy Prime Minister said the issue of sexual crimes against children – which surged from 2,541 cases in 2020 to 3,892 cases in 2024, which is an increase of 53.2% – needs serious attention.
The number of victims also increased from 2,561 people to 3,988 people, which is an increase of 55.7% in the same period, he said in a statement after chairing the National Social Council (NSC) meeting yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid said a seminar on child protection and overcoming child sexual and cybercrimes will also be held in November.
He said the coordinated efforts against such crimes will involve agencies such as the police, and Home, Youth and Sports, and Women, Family and Community Development ministries.
'This is to address the issue in a comprehensive, stringent and effective manner. The development of technology and the industrial revolution have led to an increasingly sophisticated criminal modus operandi, including the use of deepfake technology and digital identity theft,' he said.
On July 7, The Star quoted Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department's (CID) sexual, women and child investigation division (D11) as saying that there has been a huge spike in child sex abuse cases with 11,479 cases reported between 2022 and April this year.
The NSC also studied the implementation of the National Social Policy 2030 and the Action Plan 2026-2030 which is currently in the final phases and will be tabled to the Cabinet in October.
The council also looked into the issue of mental health among the homeless who could not receive proper treatment and intervention due to the lack of special homes.
'The council supports the Health Ministry's initiative to set up a task force to build special psychiatric nursing homes,' he said.
The meeting reviewed and proposed the formation of a Special Committee for Islamic Pre-School Education to coordinate issues related to registration, safety, health as well as curriculum and teacher strategy.
'This is a strategic step towards a more structured and effective early childhood education system,' he added.
On the issue of job mismatch that has affected some two million graduates, Ahmad Zahid said the MyMAHIR initiative under the Human Resources Ministry and TalentCorp has been launched to address this.
'So far, a total of 66 industry-based training programmes have been approved under the MyMAHIR Future Skills Talent Council, covering high-impact sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and the green economy.
'These programmes not only provide high-skilled training but also come with job guarantees, offering starting salaries averaging between RM3,000 and RM6,000 per month,' he said.
Ahmad Zahid said the NSC will serve as the main coordinating body for national social policy.
'The implementation of DSN 2030 must be driven in a targeted and high-impact manner, with regular monitoring, measurable impact, and strong accountability by all agencies,' he said.
The council will also be expanded to involve more ministries, including Energy Transition and Water Trans­formation; Agriculture and Food Security; Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability; Tourism, Arts and Culture; as well as the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories).