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A Critical Analysis of the Statutory Framework on Maintenance of Non-Muslim Children and Young Persons in Malaysia

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A Critical Analysis of the Statutory Framework on Maintenance of Non-Muslim Children and Young Persons in Malaysia A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATUTORY FRAMEWORK ON MAINTENANCE OF NON-MUSLIM CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS IN MALAYSIA SRIDEVI THAMBAPILLAY FACULTY OF LAW UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2017 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATUTORY FRAMEWORK ON MAINTENANCE OF NON-MUSLIM CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS IN MALAYSIA SRIDEVI THAMBAPILLAY THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY FACULTY OF LAW UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2017 UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate: Sridevi Thambapillay (I.C/Passport No: 710318-10-6160) Matric No: LHA 090005 Name of Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this Work”): A Critical Analysis of The Statutory Framework on Maintenance of Non-Muslim Children and Young Persons in Malaysia Field of Study: Family Law I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/writer of this Work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM. Candidate’s Signature Date: Subscribed and solemnly declared before, Witness’s Signature Date: Name: Designation: ii ABSTRACT A family unit is the basic unit in a society. The collapse of a family unit will ultimately lead to the collapse of the society. In a family unit comprising of a man, his wife and child, the child is the most vulnerable person, as he has to depend on his parents for his survival. The parents have a responsibility towards the child, one of which is to maintain the child. The parents have a legal as well as a moral duty to maintain their child. Breach of the moral duty will not attract any penalties whereas breach of a legal duty would. In Malaysia, there are two systems of maintenance laws:- one for the Muslims and one for the non-Muslims. This thesis, as the title states, examines the non-Muslim maintenance laws. There are about five maintenance laws, which are in force currently for the non- Muslims. However, despite the existence of these laws, the number of child maintenance cases is increasing annually. In addition, the number of articles or reports reported in the press on children being neglected or abandoned by their parents or guardians is also high. Further thereto, there are judicial decisions which state that a maintenance order in favour of a child ceases when the child reaches the age of eighteen, thereby leaving the child to fend for himself once he is eighteen years of age. The problems stated above leads to the research questions for this thesis. The research questions are two-fold, i.e. a) do the child maintenance laws and the enforcement of maintenance orders laws in Malaysia adequately safeguard the rights and interests of the children? b) If the answer is no, what are the defects or weaknesses in these laws that need to be rectified in order to protect the welfare of the children? In order to answer these research questions, the thesis aims: a) to identify the current situations concerning the problems faced by non-Muslim children in obtaining maintenance from their parents; b) to identify and critically analyse the laws on maintenance concerning non-Muslim children in Malaysia; c) to analyse the stakeholders’ perception on the laws on child maintenance and the problems concerning enforcement of maintenance orders; d) to compare the existing maintenance laws in Malaysia with iii other jurisdictions such as England and Wales, Singapore and Australia; and e) to suggest or recommend reforms to the existing legislations. This research would be significant as it would gather the most recent data, opinions and feedback from respondents who are either directly or indirectly affected by the weaknesses in the maintenance laws, alert the relevant authorities to revisit the current laws and rectify the weaknesses and finally, on the whole, it would contribute towards “reviving the rights of the children” (which have been lying dormant for a considerable period of time due to the enforcement of archaic laws) to claim maintenance from their parents. iv ABSTRAK Keluarga merupakan unit yang paling asas dalam sesebuah masyarakat. Keruntuhan sebuah keluarga akan mengakibatkan masyarakat tersebut juga runtuh. Di dalam sebuah keluarga biasa, yang terdiri daripada seorang lelaki, isterinya dan anak mereka, yang mana si anaklah yang menjadi pihak yang paling lemah (vulnerable). Ini kerana si anak perlu bergantung kepada ibubapa untuk menyaranya. Ibubapa bertanggungjawab untuk menyara anak mereka. Salah satu daripada tanggungjawab ibubapa adalah untuk memberi nafkah kepada anak mereka. Ibubapa mempunyai tugas di sisi undang-undang dan juga moral untuk memberi nafkah kepada anak mereka. Kemungkiran tugas moral tersebut tidak akan mengakibatkan apa-apa tindakan diambil terhadap mereka. Walau bagaimanapun, jika mereka memungkiri tugas di sisi undang-undang maka mereka akan dijatuhkan hukuman. Di Malaysia, terdapat dua sistem undang-undang berkenaan nafkah iaitu untuk orang-orang yang beragama Islam dan juga untuk mereka yang bukan beragama Islam. Sepertimana tajuk di atas, tesis ini akan mengkaji undang-undang berkenaan nafkah orang bukan Islam. Terdapat lebih kurang lima undang-undang berkenaan nafkah yang diluluskan bagi orang bukan Islam. Sungguhpun terdapat undang- undang tersebut, bilangan kes yang melibatkan nafkah kanak-kanak semakin bertambah setiap tahun. Selain daripada peningkatan kes nafkah yang melibatkan kanak-kanak, terdapat juga kes yang memutuskan bahawa sesuatu perintah nafkah yang memerintahkan ibu atau bapa membayar nafkah kepada anak mereka tamat apabila kanak-kanak itu mencapai usia lapan belas tahun. Oleh sebab itu, kanak-kanak tersebut perlu menyara dirinya sendiri apabila dia berusia lapan belas tahun. Masalah-masalah yang dinyatakan di atas menimbulkan soalan-soalan kajian (research questions) bagi tesis ini. Soalan- soalan kajian yang timbul adalah seperti berikut: a) adakah undang-undang berkenaan nafkah kanak-kanak dan undang-undang berkenaan penguatkuasaan perintah-perintah nafkah di Malaysia menjaga hak-hak dan kepentingan kanak-kanak? b) Jika jawapan v adalah tidak, apakah kekurangan atau kelemahan dalam undang-undang berkenaan yang perlu diatasi bagi menjaga kebajikan kanak-kanak? Bagi menjawab soalan-soalan tersebut, tesis ini akan: a) mengenalpasti situasi-situasi semasa berkenaan masalah- masalah yang dihadapi oleh kanak-kanak bukan Islam dalam mendapat nafkah daripada ibubapa mereka; b) mengenalpasti dan menganalisa secara kritikal undang-undang nafkah yang berkaitan dengan kanak-kanak bukan Islam di Malaysia; c) menganalisa persepsi mereka yang berkepentingan berkenaan undang-undang nafkah kanak-kanak dan masalah berkenaan penguatkuasaan perintah nafkah; d) membuat perbandingan undang- undang nafkah yang berkuatkuasa di Malaysia dengan bidang kuasa lain seperti England dan Wales, Singapore dan Australia; dan e) memberi cadangan untuk penambahbaikan undang-undang yang sedia ada. Kajian ini adalah penting ‘mengingatkan’pihak berkuasa yang berkenaan tentang keperluan untuk mengkaji semula undang-undang yang sedia ada dan mengatasi kelemahan-kelemahan yang wujud. Secara keseluruhan, kajian ini akan menyumbang terhadap usaha untuk mengembalikan hak-hak kanak-kanak yang telah lama tidak ditekankan akibat kewujudan undang-undang lapuk. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank God Almighty for guiding me through this lonely and challenging journey. Without His guidance, I would not have been able to complete writing my thesis. I would also like to thank the late Professor Dato’ Dr. Mimi Kamariah Majid, the former Dean of the Faculty of Law, for initiating and encouraging me to pursue my PhD. My sincere and deepest gratitude goes to my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Jal Zabdi Mohd Yusoff. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to him for being such a patient, caring and understanding person, who is ever-willing to lend a helping hand and even listening to the many challenges that I had to face in this journey. I would also like to thank my family members – my mother, brothers, husband and not forgetting my beloved son, Vishva Vinayagan for all their help and encouragement. I would be failing in my duty if I do not thank the following persons : Associate Professor Hajjah Norbani Mohamed Nazeri (Deputy Dean (Higher Degree), Faculty of Law, UM) for her kind assistance when it came to applying for an extension, Puan Siti Wirni Mohamed (Assistant Registrar, Faculty of Law, UM), Dr Saroja Dhanapal, Puan Maizatul Akmar, Ms Theresa Symon , Mr Arul Noval Das (Senior Assistant Registrar, Court of Appeal), Ms Mabel Victor Mutthiah (Bahagian Statistik, Putrajaya), Puan Namirah Hanum, Puan Saadiah Bajuri, Sister Helena Vythilingam, Sister Angelina, Sister Patricia, Cik Anith Raihana bt Zahari, Puan Noor Aza binti Ahmad, Cik Haridah, Miss Tracy Samat, Dr Balakrishnan, Puan Asiah, Dr Farah Nini Dasuki, Puan Aishah Soberi, Dr Sik Cheng Peng, Puan Kamaliah Salleh and many others who have helped me in one way or another in completing this thesis. Once again, I would like to thank God for giving me the strength to face the challenges that cropped up in the past three years.
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