PETALING JAYA: It’s official – The Star’s R.AGE team has collected enough pledges from MPs to ensure new laws against child sexual crimes are passed.
The Child Sexual Crimes Bill will need votes from at least 111 MPs to be passed into law, something which R.AGE has been pushing for through its #MPsAgainstPredators campaign.
After a weekend push involving journalists from The Star, Star2, StarMetro, The Star TV and mStar, the campaign hit 112 pledges on Monday.
“It was a great feeling having our colleagues from across the company help push us over the finish line,” said R.AGE editor Ian Yee.
“We had asked for volunteers to help us call MPs on Friday night. Many of them spent the entire weekend following up, which shows how dedicated they are as journalists, not only to their jobs but to important causes as well.”
The Star news editor Loong Meng Yee said helping out was a “no-brainer”.
“I have two daughters, and if I can’t do this to protect them and for all the other children out there, I would have failed them,” she said.
Loong solicited pledges from Tanjung Malim MP Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan and Maran MP Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib.
“Both were gracious gentlemen; not much ‘selling’ needed. The moment they heard it is for the protection of children, they were on board. That was really cool,” said Loong.
Ong, the International Trade and Industry Minister II and MCA secretary-general said: “MCA will support this Bill to be passed in Parliament.”
Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was among the MPs who pledged over the weekend.
“We need these laws to protect our children from dangerous people,” he said.
Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran said a group of his constituents had also approached him to discuss child sexual crimes.
He offered to arrange a roundtable session for them in Parliament House so they could “push the agenda further” with the relevant ministers.
The Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the end of the month, as stated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during the “Jenayah Seksual Kanak-Kanak: Hentikan!!” (Child Sexual Crimes: Stop It!!) seminar last week.
The Bill comes nine months after R.AGE launched its “Predator In My Phone” undercover investigation, which revealed the dark reality of child sexual crimes in Malaysia and initiated the call for more comprehensive laws.
To find out which MPs have pledged to support the campaign, and to lobby the others who have not done so, go to www.predator.my.
