Child Online Protection Action Plan to be ready by early 2014

The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will formulate a Child Online Protection Action Plan by the first quarter of 2014.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said, a forum with agencies and stakeholders will be held next month to get input for the action plan.

"We will finalise the action plan based on input from the agencies and stakeholders. The plan will be presented at ministry level before being brought before the Cabinet," she told a media conference after attending a child forum organised by the ministry and OrphanCARE Foundation, Wednesday.

Rohani hoped that amendments to the Child Act 2001 will be tabled at the next parliament session.

"Its quite major (amendment). About 70 percent of the act will be amended to suit the times and to empower children. The draft has been handed over to the Attorney-General."

She said there are 12 Child Protection Centres under the Welfare Services Department (JKM) nationwide with 1,950 inmates.

"The ministry via JKM offers protected children for adoption by members of the public. We have adopted an approach that the family environment is most conducive to raise children and institutions are only the last resort.

"There are 756 online applications to adopt children via JKM."

Rohani said couples who meet the criteria will go through a screening process for the purpose of matching with the children.

"The adoption process is done via the Child Placement Panel chaired by the JKM deputy director-general in accordance with section 30 (1)(e) of the Child Act 2001."

The child adoption programme is to avoid illegal adoption of children or child trafficking in addition to give children the chance to live in a family environment.