Sexual crimes against children up by 42%; Wanita MCA urges enhancement of child protection

Wanita MCA is upset and concerned about the various incidents involving children or students recently.

Firstly, an 8-year-old female student was reported missing in Cheras and later found in a condominium in Bandar Tun Razak. Secondly, an 11-year-old female student was said to have been molested by her school van driver.

Even though the first case has been solved and the suspect of the second case is now in police custody, these incidents show that the issue of child safety needs to be taken more seriously by all parties including the government, parents, teachers, and the whole community, especially for school children.

In January 2022, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said that there had been an alarming increase of sexual crimes against children, with a total of 1,721 cases recorded within 6 months from January to 30 June 2020.

Furthermore, she added that based on the statistics, the number of such cases increased by almost 42% between 2020 and 2021, even necessitating the establishment of more sexual crime courts to hear these cases.

Even today, we cannot forget incidents such as the horrific rape and murder of a 17-year-old female student in Teluk Kumbar in October 2015 by the school security guard as well as the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 10-year-old female student in Gelang Patah by security guards. In addition, there have also been shocking reports in the past of sexual crimes against boys living in hostels.

Therefore, Wanita MCA believes that more effort needs to be put into educating children on their personal rights and boundaries, how to be aware of malicious and suspicious intentions, and how to alert their parents, guardians, teachers, or trusted family members about such incidents.

Besides that, Wanita MCA has previously suggested for the government to make the National Sex Offender Registry publicly accessible, especially for parents, school authorities or employers to be able to make background checks on possible past records of sexual offences.

This is not an act of discrimination towards ex-convicts, but a proactive step to curb the worrying rise of sexual crimes against children. Prevention is better than cure. Furthermore, children who have been harassed sexually could be severely traumatised, and they may even carry that mental scar for the rest of their lives.

The safety of our children reflects the level of our society’s civilisation, mentality, and culture. Hence, we cannot allow these crimes against our children to continue to tarnish our society and our nation’s image and reputation. This is on top of the bullying cases in schools which are also on the rise.

Thus, Wanita MCA urges all parties to join hands, not just the government, but the whole community to make Malaysia a safer place and happier growing environment for our children.

Datuk Heng Seai Kie

Wanita MCA National Chairperson