By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, March 18 — The Selangor State Legislative Assembly unanimously approved the proposal for the Selangor State Child Development Policy and Action Plan 2022 – 2025 during its sitting yesterday.
The motion was brought by the state executive councillor for women and family development Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud and debated by seven state assemblymen.
Assembly Speaker Ng Suee Lim said Selangor is now the first state in Malaysia to table a policy which guarantees the rights of children throughout this term.
It will be examined by the state government in the next term, or brought to the Federal government and used as a guide.
“No other state has had a child policy in the past five years. Selangor is careful to cover all aspects, including society, the economy, and culture, and children-related issues are also not overlooked.
“This is a government friendly to the people, with the abilities and understanding of the people’s pulse. We congratulate the state government, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari, and Dr Siti Mariah,” he said following the ending of the assembly sitting.
During the sitting, the councillor stated the policy is a strategic plan that will focus on 10 main domains, namely those of parenting and prenatal preparation, health, social development, and communication.
They include early education and childcare, family well-being, education (on the primary and secondary school levels), the role of technology in child development, infrastructure and security, socioeconomics, and stakeholder engagement.
“Through this policy, both ongoing strategic action plans are included alongside future ones that will be carried out, to achieve the primary objectives outlined in each main domain.
“Via the action plan, the development of children-related programmes and initiatives can be strategically implemented, in accordance with the demographic and psychographic backgrounds of Selangor’s children,” she said when bringing the motion.
Dr Siti Mariah also expressed hope the policy will be able to provide clear and systematic guidance for the development of prosperous children in the state.
“We hope the policy will strengthen the overall development process of children via a clear direction.
“Alongside the implementation of targeted programmes and initiatives, involving various stakeholders will simultaneously ensure the children’s segment receives the best benefits, in line with the theme Anak Selangor, Anak Kita,” she said.
The assembly has been postponed to a future date, which will be announced later on.
