KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — The concept of a safe community needs to be established to engage the participation of all levels of society to play their part in addressing crimes, especially those involving children, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) suggested.
WAO executive director Sumitra Visvanatha said there was also an urgent need to tighten the cooperation between the Neighbourhood Watch, the Village Security Committee, the Police, the Social Welfare Department and other relevant agencies to ensure an integrated response to crimes involving children.
Additionally, she said the community should also emphasise on the importance of using the National Urgent Response Alert (Nur Alert) service at 15999 in the event of an emergency situation.
“People seem to forget the importance of Nur Alert’s services, in which that service should be used to all children who need it, regardless of their citizenship status. The action to deny protection against children on their undocumented basis is a form of discrimination,” she told Bernama when contacted here yesterday.
She said this in response to the brutal murder of 11-year old Siti Masitah Ibrahim, whose decomposed body was found in a bush in Kampung Medang Hilir, Pekan, Pahang, last Saturday.
Sumitra’s view was shared by Head of Women Division for Malaysian Muslim Solidarity (Wanita Isma) Dr Norsaleha Mohd Saleh who suggested that children should be allowed to bring mobile phones and tear sprayers whenever they are outside.
“After all, we have to go back to the basic fundamentals of Islam, that is never to allow our children to go out alone, especially girls. There should be somebody accompanying them at all time even if they are just going out to the store,” she said. — Bernama
