Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS, Cert Theology (Aust, Hons), MBBS (Mal), MRCP (UK), FRCP (Glasg), MSc Community Paediatrics (Ldn, distinction), is a Consultant Paediatrician who served the Malaysian health service for 35yrs. He headed a regional Paediatric and Research Department.
His interests include disadvantaged & marginalised children, indigenous, disability, family self-help groups. He helped revise child health services and introduce national programmes for children. An active child advocate and recipient of Outstanding Asian Paediatrician Award 2012 and SENIA Advocacy Award 2016. He has established NGOs and family support groups. An honorary Senior Fellow at Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.
Child abuse is very common in Malaysia; at least 1:4 children (25%) are physically abused and 1:10 (10%) are sexually abused. We are grappling to effectively deal with child abuse due to the lack of an effective social service and many public misconceptions. There is a lack of understanding that the commonest abuser of children are the parents and that it often happens at home; the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened this.
As medical professionals our role is to identify children and rescue them. This involves an understanding of the Child Act and how to use it. We need to support children and use as our guiding principle “In all actions concerning children … the best interest of the child shall be a primary consideration†Article 12, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. To move forward, society must be unwilling to tolerate the abuse of children in any form, child rights must be upheld in all areas and we need to revamp our social service to provide professional and effective care.
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