PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION IN MALAYSIA: IS EVERYTHING RIGHT WITH OUR DOMESTIC LAWS?

Parental child abduction is an unacceptable and condemned act due to its bad implication caused especially on the child. Nevertheless, it was hard to charge parents for absconding or stealing their own child for a long accepted tradition and settled rule that both parents have equal rights over the child. Both would have justifications for their act to be considered as good and bad for the child even to the extent of abducting him or her from the other parent. However, as time passed, the laws particularly, family and criminal law, have also developed to face rapid changes in the family institution. The need to reform the laws for want of jurisdiction or lack of uniformity or adequacy of laws on a certain matter were among the result of the changes in family pattern. Experience from cases showed that it was very hard for any parent to get back his or her child once the subject has been brought outside the country. Thus, this article is aiming at scrutinising the domestic laws of Malaysia, particularly the family and criminal laws on parental child abduction as well as its enforcement aspect by referring to the relevant provisions and the decided cases. Suggestions are provided to strengthen the law and its enforcement aspect, being a tool to prevent parental child abduction.