The Malaysian Bar has backed an MP’s proposal for the establishment of a federal framework to strengthen the enforcement of court-ordered child maintenance.
Bar president Ezri Abdul Wahab said the proposal was an important opportunity to address one of the most persistent challenges in the family justice system: non-compliance with maintenance orders.
“A dedicated enforcement framework or agency, developed in line with Malaysia’s constitutional structure and jurisdictional boundaries, could help ensure that children’s rights to financial support are protected and realised,” he said in a statement.
He added that such a framework would reduce the strain on courts, lower legal costs for vulnerable parties, and strengthen the family institution.
Ezri said that for too long, custodial parents had borne the burden of pursuing errant payers through lengthy and emotionally draining enforcement procedures.
“This has left many parents, and the children in their care, facing financial insecurity following separation or divorce,” he added.
He said the professional body was ready to assist in developing the proposal through legal analysis, consultation, and engagement with the relevant ministries, state authorities, and stakeholders.
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok had proposed the setting up of a federal child support agency to automatically enforce maintenance payments on fathers who fail or refuse to support their children.
During the Dewan Rakyat debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan, Kok said the National Family Care Agenda should not presume that fathers would automatically shoulder their responsibilities, adding that this was often not the experience for single mothers.
She was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying that many mothers were forced to become “personal debt collectors chasing down ex-husbands” to claim child maintenance.
She called on the government to emulate agencies in countries like Australia, the UK and Canada, where state-run systems enforce maintenance payments through measures such as wage deductions and passport suspensions.
Ezri said while Malaysia should design a system suited to its own laws and social context, the underlying principle, that maintenance for children is not a voluntary act but a legal obligation, should be firmly upheld.
“Any initiative must be inclusive and non-discriminatory, serving all eligible children and parents regardless of race, religion, or socio-economic background, and operating within the respective jurisdictions of the civil and shariah courts,” he said.
