Schools To Get Weekly Legal Literacy Programmes Under MoU With MOE - Azalina

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will soon be signed with the Education Ministry (MoE) to introduce a legal literacy training programme for the school community.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, said the ministry, together with state education departments, will conduct weekly programmes with principals and counselling teachers on existing laws, including those related to bullying and sexual crimes.

“Schools deal with children for six to eight hours a day, so they need to understand that these laws exist and be aware of them.

“That is the objective of the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU). Implementation is one perspective, but understanding the law is another. There is no point in having excellent laws if the people don’t know they exist to protect them,” she said.

As such, Azalina said she has instructed the Legal Academy to develop legal literacy training programmes for educators.

“For example, Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act requires schools and principals to know that if there is under-reporting, the school and principal can also be found at fault.

“When you see a child behaving differently – avoiding friends, fearful of being scolded, or when the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) raises concerns – procedures are already in place,” she said.

Azalina noted that under the Sexual Harassment Act, cases of harassment have decreased as society has become more aware of the law and more cautious, knowing that certain actions or speech are legally wrong.

She said the same approach applies to bullying: if people are aware of the tribunal system, bullying cases may decrease.

“When people know there is a fast tribunal system, bullying cases might lessen, because they know court processes take longer,” she said.

On corporal punishment, she said the government is reviewing its effectiveness through the Criminal Law Reform Committee (CLRC).

“One of the biggest challenges today is determining to what extent it should be applied and for what kind of offences. We need to re-examine this.

“For example, when it comes to whipping in schools and related contexts, there are many aspects that must be considered. The Criminal Law Reform Committee is currently evaluating whipping as one possible punishment, alongside multiple other types of punishment," katanya.

Azalina stressed this review is important because many laws were inherited from the colonial era and need to be re-examined.

She also agreed that some laws overlap and therefore need to be reconsidered and updated.

“When you are talking about children under 18, you cannot simply whip a child. There must be a process and procedure. These are the things we need to look at,” she added.

-- BERNAMA