N SEMBILAN POLLS | A coalition of child rights organisations has urged political parties, namely Pakatan Harapan and its component DAP, to stop using children in election campaigning, and remove such materials from their platforms.
In a joint statement today, G25 Malaysia, Children's Protection Society Malaysia and Voice of the Children stressed that children cannot understand or consent to endorsing political messages, and could face lasting consequences from appearing in campaign videos.
The groups argued that parental consent does not override a child’s individual rights, noting that Malaysia acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995.
"The Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated that ‘adult manipulation of children, placing children in situations where they are told what they can say, or exposing children to risk of harm through participation are not ethical practices.’
"A child who repeats a slogan being urged on by an adult is not exercising a voice. The adult is exploiting the voice.
"These children do not know the context. They cannot weigh the record of a government, the substance of a manifesto or the meaning of the words they have been given. They are asked to endorse something they are in no position to understand," the group added.
Once online, can’t be undone
They also warned that children's privacy was at risk.
"Video footage does not expire and a child filmed this week will remain searchable for the rest of their life, attached to a political position they did not choose and cannot withdraw, and exposed in the meantime to the abuse that follows political content online," they said.
Malaysiakini found three campaign videos on social media featuring children.
Two of the videos showed Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming with the same child, including one posted on Nga's TikTok account.
In one video, Nga and the boy urged voters to return to their hometowns to vote, while another encouraged them to cast their ballots for Harapan.
"Maintain Harapan to make Negeri Sembilan more diverse. Return home to be with your family, vote for Harapan," the DAP lawmaker said, as the child repeated the message after him. The child was also seen wearing party merchandise.
A separate campaign video featured Transport Minister and Chennah incumbent Anthony Loke alongside a child waving Harapan flags.
Calls for guidelines
The NGOs urged Harapan and DAP to remove the campaign materials and pledge not to feature children for the remainder of the state election campaign.
"The same principle applies with equal force to every party and candidate, and we would say the same of any other whose material showed the same," they added.
The groups also called on the Election Commission to introduce clear rules prohibiting the use of children in campaign materials and activities, while allowing a child's ordinary presence alongside a parent.
They further urged elected representatives to exercise restraint.
"Power carries a duty to set the standard rather than to test the limits of what nobody has yet forbidden.
"Children cannot vote, cannot consent and cannot withdraw. They should not be asked to campaign," the statement read. - Mkini
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