PUTRAJAYA: Locals staying near suspected illegal daycare and childcare centres have been urged to report them to the authorities to prevent abuse and deaths involving children.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said concerted, whole-of-community efforts were more effective at addressing cases of infant death at unregistered centres compared to authorities acting on their own.
She said while the Welfare Department (JKM) carries out spot checks on centres to ensure they are registered, oversights can occur when authorities are unaware of unregistered centres.
“Unless we get a response or input from the neighbours or community members who suspect that there is such an unregistered institution, they will have to inform us,” she told reporters here on Friday (May 22).
Nancy added that the JKM would install a plaque on centres that are registered and vetted.
However, Nancy also acknowledged that some parents, due to various challenges, opt to send their children to unregistered places.
But this would not prevent the JKM from carrying out its duties to weed out unregistered childcare centres.
“Following any surprise visit, if the premises are discovered to be unregistered, action will be taken immediately, and they will be asked to shut down,” she said.
On Tuesday, a seven-month-old infant boy was found unresponsive while sleeping at a babysitter's home in Bandar Sri Sendayan in Seremban, Negri Sembilan.
District police chief Asst Comm Azahar Abdul Rahim confirmed after a post-mortem conducted at Hospital Rembau on Thursday that there was compression to the baby's neck.
Earlier, Nancy launched “The Continuing Covenant: Malaysia’s Journey Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child” book during the event that celebrates Malaysia’s experience and achievements under the convention. The event also hosted dignitaries from various nations.
