Aryna Lyana Binti Azman, Universiti Utara Malaysia
The recent case of Abang Bas has shocked the Malaysian nation with the lack of awareness in regards to child sexual grooming. In this digital era, physical affection can easily be transformed to a sexual act of grooming regardless of how innocent it might be, it can become a gateway for the act of child exploitation. According to UNICEF Malaysia and Cambridge University Press, sexual grooming is the practice of engaging with children in order to develop a relationship built based on trust and manipulation with the purpose of sexual exploitation. Child grooming also comes in the form of cyber grooming because physical contact is not even necessary in this digital world.
What is the issue?
Abang Bas, who is a TikTok figure known from his videos of driving a school bus while recording the children and posting it on his social media has highlighted the awareness of child sexual grooming in Malaysia. Some of his videos have inappropriate acts of physical affection towards his own niece, while some are posted with inappropriate captions towards the children. This video is very dangerous as it can lead to the attention of sexual predators who are lurking online finding their next victim. The video posted stirred the public scrutiny leading to the attention of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development Malaysia thus also led to his arrest.
How does the public react?
The public’s reaction shows a diverse range of views where some of the individuals demonstrate the situation of lack of awareness about child grooming in Malaysia. For instance, some people expressed sympathy for the accused and contributed to the crowdfunding campaign for his bailment. Comments that support his actions such as, “the child was his niece”, and even “the parents were fine with the content” has drawn the attention of the public to the issue of child grooming. These reactions highlight the crucial need for greater public education to prevent the normalisation of behaviours that could lead to child exploitation.
The Richard Huckle case
In 2017, the case of Richard Huckle, a British citizen, who was a serial child sex offender who shared numerous of his gruesome videos on an online dark web network sparked the outrage of Malaysians regarding this issue. With the collaboration of Australian and British officials, he was detained in December 2014, and will serve 22 years life sentences after admitting his 71 offences against children aged between 6 months and 12 years old (Karen, 2016). He had pretended to be a trustworthy English instructor, Christian patron and worked as a freelance photographer in Malaysia from 2011 to 2014. He misled children into engaging in sexual activities with him and also created his own online paedophile manual, which trial judge Peter Rook called a "truly evil document," that instructs others on how to abuse children and evade detection. The British authorities described him as the worst morally corrupt pedophile. This case had elicited public concern in Malaysia because the Malaysian authorities had never investigated him although the victims were of majority Malaysian children (A., Joseph, 2016). During that time, the government had acknowledges that Malaysian laws are insufficient in dealing with children sexual abuse, especially in cases of children sexual grooming (Ananthalakshmi, 2016).
Law in Malaysia
In order to address these situations, the Malaysian government had implemented a number of law reforms.
Firstly is the introduction of a specific child sexual abuse legislation, Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOACA 2017) Act 792, which was enforced since 10 July 2017. The preamble to Act 792 states that it is specifically enacted to address certain sexual offenses against children, in addition to other sexual offenses against children and their punishment in other written laws, and that it is intended to provide for the administration of justice for children and related matters. In Chan Kok Poh v. Public Prosecutor [2022] 9 MLJ 755, the Judicial Commissioner has upheld the unique characteristics of Act 792, citing the maxim of generalia specialibus non derogant which means that "the general does not detract from the specific". It is used in legal interpretation to state that when a general law clashes with a specific law, the latter takes precedence.
Prior to the introduction of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOACA 2017) Act 792, there were no specific legislations to address child sexual abuse other than Section 43 of the Child Act 2001 which deals with the issue of child prostitution, and complimentary legislation such as Sections 14 and 15 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 that deals with child trafficking for sexual exploitation and Penal Code Act 574, which are insufficient in this revolving world.
The incorporation of Part III & IV of Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOACA 2017) Act 792 has laid out the provisions in regards of children sexual grooming in Malaysia to protect children in Malaysia from the potential sexual abuse. Sections 11 and 12 of the legislation clearly prohibit any individual from connecting with a kid, directly or indirectly, with the intention of grooming them for sexual exploitation. This involves conversing with the child, sending messages, or using social media platforms to build special relationships based on trust. Section 13 of the act also specifically mentions that it is an offence to travel, plan, or facilitate a meeting with a child in order to groom them for sexual activity, whether in Malaysia or abroad. Additionally, Section 14 also established the offense of physical sexual assault on a child, which occurs when a person participates in any act involving physical contact with a child for sexual reasons, with the exception of sexual intercourse. This includes touching any portion of the kid's body, forcing the child to touch the offender's, another person's, or their own body, or engaging in any other act of physical contact with the child.
In the case of Noor Azmi bin Ibrahim v Public Prosecutor and other appeals [2023] 12 MLJ 182, this is an appeal case where it involves a father who faced 5 charges under Section 14 and Section 16 of SOACA 2017 for physically sexually assaulting his 3 daughters while in a relationship of trust with them. In this case, the court had dismissed the appellant appeal and affirmed the trial judge conviction and sentences of 34 years imprisonment. The judge asserted that it was also concerned that by sexually assaulting his young daughters, he was "grooming" or exposing them to future, more intimate sexual encounters because the appellant was presumably giving them the impression that such behavior was acceptable and normal. The court further stated that it is important to remember that physical sexual assault against a child is an aspect of the broader crime of “sexual grooming” and that the Act's provisions have been meticulously crafted to address such circumstances. The court further added that other countries also had acknowledged sexual grooming and according to an entry on the State of Victoria, Australia website, grooming is when a person engages in predatory conduct to prepare a child or young person for sexual activity in the future. Before being sexually molested, young individuals are frequently "groomed." They might initially be duped into believing they are in a secure and ordinary relationship, so they might not be aware of it or believe they have no other option than to endure abuse.
The second law reform is the establishment of specialised court in session court, dealing with children sexual abuse cases which is called Mahkamah Jenayah Seksual Kanak-Kanak (JSKK). Lastly, a guideline titled "Special Guidelines for Handling Cases Concerning Sexual Offenses Against Children in Malaysia" was published and was recently modified in January 2024, with the goal of establishing a common approach among Malaysian agencies in dealing with child sexual abuse cases.
Conclusion
Malaysia already has a strong and appropriate legislation to address the issue of child sexual grooming, but challenges still exist due to the lack of enforcement by the authorities and also community spirit. These shocking cases above should serve as a wake up call for the parents to be more vigilant about where their kids are and who they are associating with to prevent these pedophile predators from getting close with their kids. Governmental organizations, law enforcement, non-governmental organizations, and society as a whole are essential in order to prevent child sexual grooming, improve victim support services, improve preventative initiatives, and guarantee the prompt and equitable administration of justice.
References
Abdul Jumaat, M. (2024). SWOT ANALYSIS ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE FRAMEWORK IN MALAYSIA. INSAF | The Journal of the Malaysian Bar, 40(1), 11-27 .Retrieved from https://insaf.malaysianbar.org.my/ojs/index.php/jmr/article/view/62
Hendrick, A. D., Jupit, A. J. R., & Nordin, A. I. (2025). Empowering Youth through Play: Promoting Awareness of Sexual Grooming among Schoolchildren through Game-based Learning. Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 51(2), 34-44.
Izdiharuddin, Izmi & Che Jamaludin Mahmud, Izmi & Fadhillah, Suria & Ahmad, Nadzriah & Hassan, Rafizah. (2023). The Analysis of Child Sexual Grooming Offences in Malaysia.
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