Educational opportunities for Malaysian child and young offenders: Realizing children's rights or rehabilitating offenders

Abstract

This thesis examines the extent to which, and the reasons why, the government of Malaysia provides educational opportunities for children and young people who are being detained in the closed (penal) institutions on orders under section 91 (1) (f) and section 97 of the Child Act, 2001. This thesis presents a detailed analysis of the driving factor(s) that motivate the government of Malaysia in formulating and implementing policy and law in regards to providing educational opportunities for such young people. The thesis, therefore, examines the conceptualization by the Malaysia Prisons Department of children‟s rights, particularly their rights to education and offender rehabilitation. Analysis reveals that, educational rights in Malaysia have such priority because education is seen generally as the way to socialize (all) young people and to improve human capital and economic potential in Malaysia. Consequently, rehabilitation in Malaysian penal institutions is conceptualized almost entirely as education. The thesis argues that the Malaysian government has been using children‟s rights to education and also offender rehabilitation to improve the process of socialization of young people in prisons institutions to enable them to contribute to the achievement of the national goals.