... heart  wrenching ...

... children should not bear the stress of having to work unnecessarily long and vigorous hours to support themselves going to school

 ... child labour deprives children from even their basic education ...

... what's life there is in the eyes of the child ...

Child labour has existed for millennia, and although it has morphed with new technologies and growing industries, the nature remains the same. The Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act of Malaysia prohibits the employment of children younger than the age of 14. The Act permits some exceptions, such as light work in a family enterprise, work in public entertainment, work performed for the Government in a school or in training institutions, or work as an approved apprentice. Malaysia's government regulates that in no case may children work more than 6 hours per day, more than 6 days per week, or, at night.

p/s   Beggars near Plaza ...***...  On weekends and public holidays when human traffic was heavy, the mothers make their children sit in front of them, holding a bowl and would leave their children at a strategic point before moving to another location to beg. But they would often return to watch over the young ones. Beggars with children who were independent sat along the pavement in front of shops or under trees near the terminal area. I noticed that many of these mothers had more than three children. There were those with five or six children “working” alongside them. Have the parents’ difficult living conditions driven them to forget the need to protect their own children from the dangers of being left on the street and garbage fills? Are our social structures and state mechanisms so inadequate that families are not able to find solutions to get themselves out of this economic rut?

There are however those street beggars that are classified as ‘professional beggars’. It is hard for the novice traveller to differentiate between those in need and those topping up their bank account. Certainly gives new meaning to ‘alms for the poor’.

 ... if we want to develop our country we should first develop

a bright future for these children ...