Legal Aid And Public Defence Bill enhances Legal Support For Children - Azalina

PUTATAN, Aug 26 (Bernama) -- The Legal Aid and Public Defence Bill 2025, passed in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, will prioritise and enhance legal protection for children, especially those involved in criminal cases as victims, with special focus on sexual crimes.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, announced that all child victims will receive automatic legal aid and support, including legal companions and defence representation where needed.

She said she had also instructed the Legal Affairs Division to ensure that, in all cases involving children, they are not left to navigate the legal system alone.

“In the aspect of this new act to provide legal services to children, we must provide automatic assistance, legal companion for them.

“If they need a lawyer, defence representation and so on, we will provide...when it comes to legal defence for children, priority would be given, including to those with disabilities,” she told reporters after officiating the Justice On Wheels (JOW) programme at Dewan Sri Putatan here today.

The bill, which replaces the Legal Aid Act 1971, introduces a more inclusive public defence service and extends legal aid to all children regardless of citizenship status. Chapter 4 of the bill allows legal companions to advise guardians or protectors on legal issues during proceedings listed in the Third Schedule.

Azalina also stressed the need for greater legal rights awareness, especially around under-reported issues such as child sexual abuse, saying that she had written to Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, who responded positively to the idea of establishing a collaborative platform between schools and the Legal Affairs Division.

“I emphasised the need to ensure schools are aware of their reporting obligations. Because of under-reporting issues, we want to make sure schools understand that if they have certain knowledge, they must report it. If not, they'll be considered liable," Azalina said.

She also pointed out that expecting everything related to children to fall under the jurisdiction of the Child Commissioner and the Child Act alone would be unfair.

To address this, she said the Legal Affairs Division is seeking budget allocation from the Ministry of Finance next year to roll out national legal awareness campaigns.

“It’s not enough to have courts and lawyers; the public must know their rights and the laws that protect children,” she added.

-- BERNAMA