Singh HSS, Dato' Dr Amar (2026) The State Of Children In Malaysia. The State Of Children In Malaysia. pp. 1-125.
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Abstract
Children are often spoken of as the ‘future’ of every nation, and yet they remain among the most vulnerable. In Malaysia, we have made remarkable strides in health, education, and economic development over the past five decades. Our infant mortality rates have fallen dramatically, immunisation coverage has remained above 95%, and access to primary healthcare is available to the majority. These are achievements we should be proud of. But they should not blind us to a deeper and more troubling reality. Beneath the averages and the national statistics lies a disturbing landscape of inequality. The benefits of Malaysia's development have not reached all children equally. Indigenous Orang Asli children experience under-5 mortality rates very much higher that of the national average. Refugee and stateless children grow up without legal identity, without access to basic health and education, and without the security of a home. Children in relative poverty - and there are three to four million of them - live in conditions that permanently harm their physical growth, their cognitive development, and their life trajectory. Children with disabilities are often excluded from education, healthcare, and society. Our adolescents are experiencing a psycho-social (mental health) crisis that is deepening year by year. This document is an attempt to tell the full story - not the version that appears in glossy national reports, but the version that every civil society organisation, paediatrician, social worker, teacher, and community health worker encounters daily. It draws on decades of on-the-ground-work, research, advocacy, and published data. It is aimed to be comprehensive and honest. A child who is stunted, abused, trafficked, or excluded from school is not a statistic. They are a person whose future has already been shaped and diminished by failures that are systemic and preventable; often a failure of governance. We have attempted to outline each issue, defining the problem, quantifying it, identifying who is most at risk, examining what we are doing, and asking what more must be done. Each section of this document follows that discipline. Every claim is sourced. Where data are absent, that absence is itself named as a failure. This document is offered as a reference for civil society advocates, policy makers, healthcare professionals, researchers, and anyone who believes that 'leaving no child behind' must be not a slogan, but a measurable and enforceable commitment. The children of Malaysia are watching us. The question is whether we are watching them. Children are not just our future, they are our present treasure. We must work to improve their situation and change their outcomes today.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z719 Libraries (General) |
| Divisions: | Perpustakaan Universiti Sains Malaysia (Library) > Article |
| Depositing User: | Mr Noor Azizan Abu Hashim |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Sep 2026 04:18 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Sep 2026 04:18 |
| URI: | http://eprints.usm.my/id/eprint/65030 |
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