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A Study on Malaysian Child Act (2001) Faizah Haji Mas'ud

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A Study on Malaysian Child Act (2001) Faizah Haji Mas'ud “Malaysianisation” of Malaysian Social Policy Development: A Study on Malaysian Child Act (2001) Faizah Haji Mas’ud “BSc. (Human Development), Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, 1993: MSW (Applied), Massey University, 1997” “This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Western Australia” 2012 ABSTRACT Social policy development in Malaysia has gone through various stages and influences due to many factors, including the country‘s historical experiences and global policy. Social policy is formulated by the State according to a particular welfare model and to pursue intended political goals set forth for the country. In this study, the Malaysian Child Act (2001) (MCA 2001) has been selected to exemplify the development of social policy in Malaysia. The study seeks to examine what social, political, and economic circumstances in Malaysia have influenced the development of Malaysian social policy with reference to the MCA 2001. Working from an ‗insider-outsider‘ perspective in qualitative inquiry, the research employs a thematic approach in the textual analysis of the MCA 2000, and is supported by relevant laws and information gathered from interviews with selected participants. In this research, the importance of text (statute) is acknowledged as a representation of the exercise of power in the social reality. To ensure a valid account of the phenomena, MCA 2001 is connected with other texts (laws and policy) and the local participants. This research has included interviews with stakeholders who are involved directly and indirectly with the formulation or implementation of the Act. The MCA 2001 endorsed a change of direction away from a problem-solving agenda to a preventive approach. The study reveals how the Act was formulated as the means to achieve ‗Malaysianisation‘ in social policy, and at the same time adheres to the development of international social policy, in particular the United Nation Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC). The formulation of the MCA 2001 facilitated the State‘s aims to achieve the status of a developed nation in Malaysian Vision 2020. Thus, the Act was utilised to deliver the State agenda in nation-building and at the same time corroborated the country‘s development plan. To do this, the multicultural population was homogenised by the MCA 2001 to achieve a universal standard of child welfare. This study highlights three main functions of the Act in Malaysia social policy: formalising the partnership between the State and the family in the protection and regulation of children‘s behaviour; merging child protection law and corrective justice into one law; and continuation of a residual approach to the protection and regulation of children's behaviour from the previous laws, especially for children in at-risk situations. i The thesis concludes with an argument that it is critical for social policy in Malaysia to be formulated only after a full consideration of the population it addresses, and how time, place, context and policies can be effectively used to achieve policy objectives. There should be a formal evaluation of social policy through various bodies of the State to evaluate effectiveness, and to provide input about achievement of future policy. ii TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................... vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................... viii GLOSSARY OF MALAY WORDS AND TERMS .................................... x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ xii THESIS DECLARATION ......................................................................... xiii CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW ................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Malaysia and Child Welfare Policy .............................................................................. 3 The Research Questions ................................................................................................ 6 Thesis Outline ............................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO: THE RESEARCH JOURNEY: MEANING MAKING IN SUBJECTIVITY ...................................................................................... 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 8 Methodological Perspectives ........................................................................................ 9 Theory and Methods of Qualitative Inquiry ............................................................... 10 Research on Social Policy ....................................................................................... 10 iii The Research ............................................................................................................... 12 Self-in-Research Methodology ............................................................................... 14 The ‗Outsider‘ Perspective ...................................................................................... 16 The ‗Insider‘Perspecetive..... ...................................................................................18 The‘Insider-Outsider‘ Perspective......... ................................................................19 Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 22 Textual Analysis ..................................................................................................... 22 Conversations with Stakeholders ............................................................................ 24 Meaning-Making of Information ............................................................................ 25 Ethical Consideration .............................................................................................. 28 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 28 CHAPTER THREE: SOCIAL POLICY DISCOURSE: TOWARDS ‗MALAYSIANISATION‘ FROM A BRITISH COLONY TO A DEVELOPED NATION ............................................................................. 30 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 30 The Development of Malaysian Social Policy ............................................................ 31 Issues in Social Policy; Internal and External Preoccupation ..................................... 36 ‗Malaysianisation‘: From social work to social policy to social work .................. 44 A System of Binary Law versus the Universal Standard ............................................ 57 Malaysian Syariah Law: Internal and External Fusions ......................................... 59 Child Welfare Policy in Malaysia ............................................................................... 64 iv Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 73 CHAPTER FOUR : FORMALISING THE ROLE OF FAMILY FOR CHILDREN AT-RISK: ALLIANCE OF THE STATE, THE FAMILY AND THE CHILD ...................................................................................... 75 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 75 A Merger of Protection and Corrective Justice: For the Welfare of the Child ........... 76 The Social Construction of a ‗Child in-Need and at-Risk‘ ......................................... 78 Social Construction of ‗The Family‘ ........................................................................... 80 The Social Construction of ‗At- Risk Family‘ ........................................................ 85 The State: Power and Knowledge ............................................................................... 95 The Child - In Reality and in Social Policy .............................................................. 105 Children as Future Citizens ................................................................................... 109 Individuals of Innocence ....................................................................................... 111 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 113 CHAPTER FIVE: CORRECTIVE JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN AT-RISK: FOR THE PEACE AND HARMONY OF A NATION........................... 115 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 115 Regulation of a Child and Family and Society ......................................................... 116 The Social Construct of Corrective Justice in the MCA 2001 .................................. 120 Beyond Control ..................................................................................................... 128 Inappropriate
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