With Malaysian authorities seeking to enforce the death penalty upon parents who abandon their children to die, Malaysian society is debating if this the best way to deal with the problem.
Previously, baby dumping cases had legally been considered an act of abandonment, a crime that can carry up to 10 years imprisonment. Following a proposal from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, the Malaysian Cabinet has agreed that baby dumping will now be considered attempted murder or murder, which is punishable by a mandatory death sentence on conviction.
The Cabinet’s decision has triggered different reactions across the predominantly Muslim country with some members of society welcoming the stricter measures and other opposing it with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party spiritual adviser saying such punishment was in line with the teachings of Islam.
However the uni-racial political party, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek said baby dumping should not be criminalized. In a report published in the The Malaysian Insider, Dr. Chua said the harsh penalty would only worsen the current situation, driving it further underground in ways that would be harder to trace and increase incidents where babies are buried alive.
Dr. Chua also pointed out that the father should have equal responsibility in a baby dumping case.
Some Malaysians are in the opinion that young parents, especially the young single mothers, who abandon their babies, should not be considered criminals but as victims of society.
Difficult to Enforce
Shelter Home executive director James Nayagam said it would be difficult for police to charge mothers who dump their babies with murder because an element of intent was required and it was difficult to prove.
He also pointed out that the harsh penalty would lead a woman in fear to resort to illegal abortion. Mr. Nayagam said there’s an estimated figure of 300 abortions performed daily in Malaysia.
With many commentators saying that the use of the death sentence will not be effective in curbing baby dumping, alternatives in resolving the issue are needed.
The prime minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, has called for academics to understand what social dynamics are driving baby dumping and for them to research the situations of not only the girls who have committed such acts but their male partners as well.
Moral Decline
Many commentators have attributed the declining moral standard in society as fuelling the baby dumping phenomenon. Pornography, liberalism, failure by families to impart moral values to their children and inadequate sex education for teenagers are some of the reasons that commentators say are contributing to the baby dumping problem. The castigation from society and a lack of sympathy that teenage mothers experience are also factors that drive them to abandon their babies.
Crime Prevention FoundationVice-Chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye described baby dumping as a social ill brought on by promiscuous youth and problematic families. He attributed the failure of family institutions to impart noble values among the younger generation to the troublesome situation.
Alternatives to Death Sentence
Among other measures addressing the baby-dumping problem has been the establishing of Malaysia’s first “baby hatch” – Orphan Care which provide a venue for desperate mothers to anonymously give away their unwanted babies which would then be adopted out.
However the hatch has sparked intense debates with some arguing that the hatch encourages premarital sex. In other countries where baby hatches have been established some critics say such institutions add to the burden on tax-payers.
Women’s Aid Organisation and Human Rights Commission of Malaysia say awareness and proper education would be a better way than than capital punishment to solve the baby dumping issue.
MCA’s Dr. Chua agreed in the importance of finding solutions through education and added that a change of mentality was needed in society. MCA is launching a sex education campaign next month.
