KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The Road Transport Department (RTD) has been urged to apply parenting elements in the driving school curriculum to enhance knowledge pertaining to children passenger safety practices.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh said a letter of recommendation on the matter was sent to RTD.
“Although most applicants of driving licence are 18 years old and still single, they should know about the safety of children in their cars to avoid any untoward incident(s) such as accident(s) involving children,” she said.
Yeoh was speaking to reporters after presenting hats to the residents in conjunction with Father’s Day celebration in Medan Damansara today.
Asked on the incident involving a two-year-old girl who died after being left for more than two hours in the car in Sabah on Wednesday, Yeoh said parents must check their vehicle every time they went out to make sure no one was left behind.
“Please do not take it for granted because the case involving child being trapped in the car in the weather as hot as Malaysia would be very painful experience for the child.
“It is death by heatstroke. Worse thing if they are strapped by the seatbelt that they cannot move ... it is very painful,” she said.
Meanwhile, Yeoh also urged parents to interact more with their children and not just fully focus on generating income for their family.
“It’s not just about giving money (to the children), it’s really about giving input, teaching them values and spending time with them and the children will watch their parents’ interaction,” she said.
Yeoh said children from broken families who were lonely would turn to strangers online for attention.
“That’s the danger that we face today because our children when they are lonely, they turn to online (social media) and that’s not what you want. That’s why spending time (with family) is important, not just giving them gadgets, but really taking the Saturday and Sunday off to spend time with them,” she said. — Bernama
