A deputy minister says she is in the dark about the British national who has been charged in court in the United Kingdom for sexually abusing Malaysian children.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Azizah Mohd Dun said she has not been told anything about paedophile suspect Richard Huckle's alleged crimes against local children.

Speaking to British TV network Sky News, Azizah said she does not, at present, know anything about the matter and gave her assurance that her ministry will provide help and counselling for the children involved, once their identities are confirmed.

"The prosecution is happening in England and the victims are unknown and so we would of course like to help. That is our duty.

"The victims here, especially if they are Malaysians, we will help. Counselling, for a start, but at the moment we don't know who they are," she said.

Describing the allegation as horrible, the deputy minister said it was not something to be tolerated, adding that had the authorities been aware of the matter, they would have done everything possible to stop it.

"We will do anything to protect our children if we know about it," Azizah said.

The BBC reported today that Huckle had admitted to 71 charges of sexually abusing children from poor communities, mainly in Kuala Lumpur.

Huckle was said to have abused up to 200 children between 2006 and 2014 and the victims are said to be between six months and 12 years old.

He was arrested by UK authorities when he went home for Christmas in 2014, who said that while they were aware of his activities in Malaysia they were powerless to act while he was out of their jurisdiction.