KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs compulsory, safe and accessible reporting channels backed by independent case audits and standardised protection policies to prevent child-abuse warnings from being lost between institutions, said Singapore non-profit movement EveryChild.SG chief operations officer Aarathi Arumugam.
She said parents, schools, health professionals, social services, lawmakers and enforcement agencies each hold parts of a case, but responsibility for assembling the full picture and ensuring action often remains unclear.
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“Parents, schools, health professionals, social services, lawmakers and enforcement agencies all hold different pieces of this picture,” she said at the National Child Protection Leadership Policy Lab 2026 at the International Youth Centre yesterday.
She cited notes received from the mother of Yap Shing Xuen, the victim of last year’s Bandar Utama school stabbing, describing warning signs involving the other child before the tragedy.
She added that these included unusual behaviour and weapons allegedly brought to school over time.
She also said the account raised concerns over whether adults recognised the warning signs, parents sought help, the school had effective detection and reporting systems, and agencies knew who should take charge before the tragedy occurred.
“This anguished interrogation captures the central challenge before us.”
Aarathi said closing such gaps required mandatory reporting channels, standardised policies for schools and other child-facing institutions, stronger oversight of after-school centres, care homes and religious centres, and independent audits of how cases are handled.
She also called for better enforcement of existing laws, workforce planning, accountability, data collection and coordination among NGOs.
“We want to commit to real, actionable proposals to plug the gaps and strengthen the child protection system.”
She also said cases of physical sexual abuse involving children in Selangor rose 70% from 2021 to 2025, according to figures tabled in the state assembly.
“The rise might well be partly due to improvements in reporting structures, but many cases remain unrecorded and go unnoticed until it is too late,” she said, adding that child sexual abuse material continued circulating online, particularly through chat groups.
Aarathi said frontline services, shelters, awareness campaigns and prevention received only a fraction of wider social welfare allocations.
She also said Talian Kasih 15999 remained insufficiently known, adding that many conference participants had only learnt of the helpline a day earlier.
She called for a nationwide campaign across television, trains, petrol stations and buses to improve awareness.
Aarathi said not every weakness required a new law, but protection systems had to be visible, coordinated and accountable.
“The success of child protection should not be measured by how much we do after a tragedy, but by how many children we protect before a tragedy happens.”
Organised by the Children’s Protection Society Malaysia (CPSM) Kuala Lumpur branch in collaboration with the Women Economic Forum and G100 Global Meet 2026, the two-day conference examined four pillars – Protect, Empower, Educate and Report – and concluded with the policy lab to develop practical recommendations.
Also present was the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, CPSM’s royal patron, who officiated at the policy lab