COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL AND MALAYSIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORKS ON THE TREATMENT ON UNCONTROLLABLE CHILDREN: IS THERE ANY INCONSISTENCY?

The issue of uncontrollable children is no longer peculiar in the present days. Uncontrollable children can be found in almost every country across the globe. Although this issue is no longer novel, uncontrollable children are being defined and treated differently in different jurisdictions. On this note, numerous international legal instruments have been adopted to protect the welfare of all children which includes the protection on the uncontrollable children. This article aims to comparatively analyse the available provisions extracted from international legal instruments that form part of the international legal framework on uncontrollable children with the Malaysian legal framework regarding uncontrollable children to analyse the consistency between the former and the latter legal frameworks. The preliminary finding from this article is that the legal framework on uncontrollable children in the Child Act 2001 has substantially incorporated the proper treatment which is required by the international legal framework and is consistent with the international legal framework. This can be seen in particular following the disintegration of the treatment on uncontrollable children and juvenile offenders as well as the prioritisation of family-based care subsequent to the 2016 amendment of the Child Act 2001. This development to carry out reform process is commendable in the aspect of children’s rights and consistent with the aspiration of the international legal framework in preserving the best interest of the child which includes uncontrollable children. In reaching this finding, content analysis was carried out pertaining to the provisions of the international and Malaysian legal frameworks on the treatment of uncontrollable children which suggests that the Malaysian government has been taking some significant efforts to incorporate the international standards within its domestic law.