DENGKIL, June 28 — The Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry introduced today an awareness campaign to combat a rising trend of baby abandonment, aiming to encourage affected women to seek help in order to save newborn lives.
According to official data, seven in 10 infants abandoned are typically found dead and even the majority of those discovered alive usually do not survive.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail launched the campaign at the Dengkil Rest and Service (R&R) Area, in response to statistics that show public toilets to be among the main sites of baby dumping.
“We are trying to implement locality mapping and strategic intervention plans for places identified as baby dumping hot spots, through cooperation with the Royal Malaysia Police,” said Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the women, family and community development minister.
“We need to focus on the health and wellbeing of both the baby and the mother, that is why it is the role of the society, including parents, schools, the community, religious institutions, the media, state and federal authorities, and other relevant parties to cooperate and together realise and ensure protection is afforded to the mother and baby.”
The minister said informational stickers have been placed on the doors of all toilet cubicles at 22 R&R stops along the North-South Expressway that serves an average of 1.5 million motorists daily.
Deputy Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh later revealed that between 2010 and 2018, Selangor recorded the most baby dumping cases at 221, followed by Sabah (116) and Johor (106).
Aside from public toilets where 108 incidents were discovered, Yeoh said other common locations for baby dumping were housing areas (266), rubbish and refuse sites (89), sewage plants and large drains (63).
“To date, there are already 65 cases this year alone, and this is very serious; Johor has the highest with 13 cases, followed by Selangor with 11 cases and Kuala Lumpur with seven cases,” she said.
Yeoh advised women with unplanned pregnancies not to hesitate in seeking assistance, urging them to call the Talian Kasih hotline at 15999 for aid and counselling.
“Of the majority of the babies found, only 30 per cent are alive when we find them, and 60 per cent of them die in the process.
“These are all lives and we want to do it right with families, so the first thing is awareness, to save the life of the baby first,” she added.
Yeoh listed the wide-ranging options available to those unable to care for their newborn, such as baby hatch services at the KPJ Specialist Hospitals in Damansara, Tawakal, Ipoh, Kuantan, Seremban, Penang, Johor, and Kelantan, along with orphan care centres and adoption services under the ministry.
