CORPORAL punishment as a form of child discipline should be banned, said a child rights activist following the death of schoolboy Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gadaffie in Johor today.

Dr Hartini Zainudin was emphatic when she told The Malaysian Insight that it was not merely that corporal punishment should be regulated, but that it should never be used at all to discipline children.

“It should be banned. You shouldn’t be using corporal punishment at all.

“You don’t teach children to behave by using violence. It is not the way.

“They are children, human beings that you want to equip with knowledge and instil with values,” Hartini said, adding there were better ways to teach children accountability and responsibility without resorting to the punitive approach.  
 
She pointed out that the use of physical force should not be taken lightly as some people could not differentiate between reprimand and abuse.

“We go through this every few years; every few years we will have some kids or children being severely abused or corporal punishment going wrong.

“We have never learnt our lesson, or about child protection policy. We never learn what is the definition of abuse. 

“We condone corporal punishment; we say that it disciplines children. Let’s change this attitude of how we want children to behave.”

Earlier today, Thaqif, an 11-year-old pupil at a religious school in Kota Tinggi, Johor died at the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru after having both legs amputated.

He was scheduled to undergo further surgery this morning to amputate the right arm but it was postponed because of his weak heart condition. He died aabout 2pm.

Thaqif attended Madrasah Tahfiz Al-Jauhar, where the assistant warden allegedly whipped Thaqif and his classmates with a water hose. 

The man was arrested on Saturday and is now facing a murder charge. – April 26, 2017.