Many of us would have read the news of 31 children aged 14 to 17 (16 boys and 15 girls) in Johor who were detained on suspicion of using identity cards belonging to others to gain employment.
Some had dropped out of school when they were just 12, while others, who are still attending school, claimed they have been working at the factory during the school holidays.
This news caught me with mixed feelings. Yes, they appear to have committed a crime, using the identity cards belonging to others but they were doing so to get work.
Most teenagers who abuse an adult’s identity card would do so for the wrong reasons – to commit a crime like buying alcohol or access an online porn site. But these kids wanted to work.
What should we do with them? Definitely not punish them.
We need to understand their circumstances. I suspect most must be living in poverty and need to work to support themselves or their families.
So, I appeal to the authorities to please be compassionate.
For those who can continue or return to school, please assist them to do so. But make sure their family’s needs are met and they do not continue in poverty. Otherwise, you may just worsen their situation.
For those who have dropped out of school for some time, the authorities should invest in their lives by upskilling them via vocational training, while at the same time, making sure their families’ needs are met and they do not continue living in poverty.
The least we can do is not to make their situation worse by incarcerating them or taking legal action against them. They need our help, not punishment.
But there are bigger issues here.
We need to ask what are our proactive mechanisms to prevent school dropouts. Does the Ministry of Education (MOE) have a routine mechanism to identify and reach out to school dropouts?
The hardest children to identify are those lost in transition, from primary to secondary school. In a previous article, I estimated, using MOE data, that an average of 80,000 children, or 18 per cent of those who attended public schools, dropped out during Standard 1 to Form 5.
Does MOE make home visits to children who have dropped out or failed to register? Home visits can always be coordinated by MOE staff with civil society organisations and local agencies doing the work.
Another issue is poverty. Whatever government figures show about absolute poverty reduction, we all know the reality that relative poverty has grown significantly in our country.
Children may need to work to support the family. It is time to make a real effort on poverty reduction in the country and leave no family behind.
My heart breaks for these children and I hope and pray that compassion prevails.
Dr Amar-Singh HSS is a consultant paediatrician and child disability activist.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
