Citizens for Nurin Alert
We need another policy, Shahrizat? A group of parents have been getting in touch with each other and are expected to start an initiative modeled after Amber Alert in the US. Since its introduction, Amber Alert is believed to have saved hundreds of children from their abductors.
Journo-blogger Nuraina A. Samad wrote an e-mail to Shahrizat Abdul Jalil last week with regards to this initiative. Understandably, she's been let down by the decision taken by the Minister's think-tank last Friday to come up with a Child Protection Policy (read here).
I agree: Shahrizat can do more - a lot more - than what she's done so far. We don't need more rhetorics, we need a specific plan of action. Let's not forget, Nurin Jazlin's abduction, torture and murder is NOT about parenting; it is about abduction, torture and murder.
We need a plan of action to guide all of us - the parents, the police, the community, the media, the bloggers, the kids, the teachers, the politicians - on what each of us need to do to ensure that the next time a child is abducted, we will be empowered to tell the abductors that they'll be wise to let the child go, unharmed.
A policy (to be tabled at the Cabinet after the Happy Hari Raya season) is not going to scare these abductors and killers.
p.s. Please watch this space for more on the citizens' initiative, with or without the relevant ministry's help.
i would suggest Rakan Nurin sort of programme , to emulate rakan cop and rukun tetangga.
ReplyDeletemaybe begins with any small perumahan area or certain radius of kilometres
the pact like PIBG would be best suited to expand itself to this Rakan Nurin.
in what manners and how to be executed, i leave them to the expert and the rest of you lah ..ok? wsalam
rocky,
ReplyDeletehey...thanks for taking this up.
i feel that those who can do more are not addressing the issue. not that they are not doing enough, in fact they don't have to. they just need to focus on the problem...ask themselves -- what have we NOT learnt from Nurin's tragedy?
we have not learnt how to SAVE a kidnapped child..
Shahrizat and those in position to effect change, as it were, are simply diverting focus from the real problem at hand.
ask ourselves -- what do we do the next time a child is abducted?
because, bro, there will be a next time. maybe not tomorrow, not next week....
but there will be a next time.
We cannot expect the Ministers to read the blogs and take note of the proposed Nurin Alert system.
ReplyDeleteWe must bring it into the open, present it to the authorities, the IGP, the community leaders.
Jasni has taken the first step in the meeting where he presented Jazimin’s letter and appeal for Nurin Alert. It would be good if he could hold more such talks at the relevant organisations/women’s and children’s protection groups/community leaders/wakil rakyat/wakil parlimen and later if possible find a way to get it in the papers for more exposure.
Tembam and Nuraina have written very well on the system. If it be could put down in a formal format, then it could be distributed to many people/organisations and people would become more aware of it, especially when the many examples where the system has saved kids are included.
We have to push it, get the word and the proposal out to as many organisations and parties, maybe even try to meet the IGP himself.
It’s not gonna work if we depend on them to read our opinions and hope they decide to take it up.
We need a good written draft of the proposed Nurin Alert and a systematic way of reaching out to the relevant authorities. Wide exposure, publicity and persistence, persistence, persistence.
Tehsin
Like I've written somewhere before.
ReplyDeleteDon't hope for too much from her. Just wait for her patronising smile when she proudly announced this 'policy'of hers.
Like you said bro---its not about parenting --AT ALL !!!!
Can someone in her Ministry PLEASE tell her!
I agree with you Rocky, but if we could remember rightly sometime ago, she was promoting a parenting class to married couples, now by diverting the real issue she can justify the plan & make some money for coming GE.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the women's Centre for Change, Penang has been conducting Outreach Programmes at schools, with programmes such as "Bijak itu Selamat", educating kids abt safety, sexual abuse, etc; "Respect Yourself", which is about abstinence and learning to say no; "Healthy Relationships for Teenage Girls" and "Turning Point", which is abt educating teenage boys about healthy attitudes towards girls/women. I really hope they can spread their wings further, as they have been focussing on the the north. I have written to them and am awaiting a reply. We need more of these organisations for educating our kids and teens.
ReplyDeleteWait for the minister?
ReplyDeleteYou better start your own
Look at the police
The drafting of IPCMC
In the process
Deadline gone
Yet no news after that
PM flying in his new jet
Australia, New York, Britain, Saudi Arabia
He always gone out of the country
He has no time to think of parenting
Let the ministers do the talking
Many statements never admit mistakes
So there you have it
Wait for the minister?
Until there is no tear falling
You won’t get it done
Let the ball rolling in
With people who share the common aim
Protect the young ones from the demons
Crying in sheep cloth but wolves inside
Don’t wait for the government
The leaders are sleeping in the corridors
They don’t hear the crying and knocking
They are so busy promoting themselves
To stay on in power
The government with all its resources at its disposal and a parliamentary majority to boot, could have implemented any policy it wishes. But alas, it has lost touch with its people.
ReplyDeleteBN leaders (being wealthy and their families protected from dangers) do not have feelings for the miseries citizens are going through.
Yes, they shed crocodile tears before TV cameras but the truth is they care not a damn about the sufferings of the people.
The threat to charge Nurin's parents is sure prove of what I am saying. No one with a human heart would ever even think of such a proposition.
Our leaders are there to amass wealth and power while riding on the gullibility of the rakyat.
It's true, mr. smith, the govt has just lost touch because those in power are so insulated, arrogantly comfortable and bz living their lavish lifestyles at the expense of us, the rakyat.
ReplyDeleteRakyat Malaysia, bangunlah...protest, march, picket, write-in, sit-in...let our voices be heard, let them know we had enough.
Wipe the smirks off their smug, fat, arrogant, pasty, heavily-made up faces.
I am getting personal. Because this IS personal. It is OUR FUTURE!!!!
Ena, you and Tembam and Rocky and En Jasni just let us who are not in KL know how we can pitch in, okay.
ReplyDeleteAnd Tehsin, love your ripping into those useless free-booting politicians. LOL @ ... smug, fat, arrogant, pasty, heavily-made up faces.
All Sharizat's and her BN colleagues have contributed a lot of what they want to do, merely as knee-jerks and quick-fixes. ALL THESE POSTURINGS STILL DO NOT CHANGE THE FACT (that these murders, abductions will continue) until a strong-willed initiative like the Amber Alert be put in place and MAINTAINED & SUSTAINED. The last two actions are KEY. Otherwise, like all BN's big talk, they hoodwind the public into a feel-good stupor until another disaster wakes up the community.We dont need cheap talk anymore.
ReplyDeleteWe can observe the fact that our Ministers are not interested in solutions - they need to turn problem with solutions that generates projects that would help pay the election expenses and renovation works. Oh, they also need new properties.
ReplyDeleteMay be our Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is doing "exactly" what "Women, Family and Community Development" is all about! Going after criminal is out of her scope, right? May be she pass the buck of scaring the criminal to Police and Internal Security. Hence Child Protection Act, not Nurin Alert.
ReplyDeleteEasy job, Shahrizat...
I'm quite skeptical about this 'Nurin Alert system'. Perhaps it is still infant and I'm being overtly critical. Punch me for being unreasonable...I was just concerned.
ReplyDeleteWill be very interested with the development and progress though.
Hopefully, we'll be able to create a safer and secure environment for our children.
http://mlysn.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/nurin-alert-may-cause-a-red-alert-instead/
There's an interesting article in BBC.com today - Interpol launches global search for child sexual predator. Interpol maintains a database of 520,000 images of child sex abuse submitted by 36 member states. Using sophisticated software, investigators have identified and rescued nearly 600 victims from 31 countries. Perhaps there's something to be learned from Interpol.
ReplyDeleteBro Muhammad Yunus,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by. No, not going to throw any punches your way for your views. In fact, I appreciate your opinion. I believe if we are going to do this Nurin Alert, we’d better cover all angles. Your reservation is AN angle.
Some of the parents will be meeting later today to discuss the idea. I’ll be there because I believe creating a urgent-response or alert system is ONE way to go. I agree with you — preventive measures are the best.
But what happens if we have taken all the preventive measures and our child still gets abducted? When a child has already gone missing (whether abducted, sleeping under the bed or just got lost), preventive measures won’t be any good. We need to respond to the situation accordingly.
There is no such alert system. Perhaps if there was, Nurin could still be alive today. Perhaps not. But we’ll cover this particular angle, nonetheless, because it is our responsibility as adults and parents to ensure that we do everything to protect the children.
I’ll be counting on your support when this gets off the ground.
Muhammad Yunus,
ReplyDeleteThere's prevention, there's education and then there's reaction. We need all three. One or two false alarms should not render the whole system a needless anxiety causing exercise. The world has changed, circumstances have changed...we need to be more paranoid and proactive. A little kid's life is worth everything. How would we feel if the kid we ours? Wouldn't we want every possible action taken to get them back? No system is foolproof. But having no system at all is the acting the fool.
Hi Sis. Tehsin!
ReplyDeleteHow I NOT agree with you?
When there is a hope, there is a will.
Hope will give you positive energy.
Amber Alert is not only giving hope to the unfortunate parents but it’s proven that more than 80% of the reported cases had been solve by Amber Alert.
ahiruDIN aTTan said “…preventive measures won’t be any good. We need to respond to the situation accordingly”.
When a child was abducted, where else could we go? After police report made, who have the capability to seek help from as many media as possible within the crucial 48 hours? The police will take action just after 48 hours from the time a child has been abducted. Will we have better chance to save a child’s life with these crucial times? With an ALERT SYSTEM, surely the chances are better.
Go for NURIN ALERT!
Hi Sis. Tehsin!
ReplyDeleteHow I NOT agree with you?
When there is a hope, there is a will.
Hope will give you positive energy.
Amber Alert is not only giving hope to the unfortunate parents but it’s proven that more than 80% of the reported cases had been solve by Amber Alert.
ahiruDIN aTTan said “…preventive measures won’t be any good. We need to respond to the situation accordingly”.
When a child was abducted, where else could we go? After police report made, who have the capability to seek help from as many media as possible within the crucial 48 hours? The police will take action just after 48 hours from the time a child has been abducted. Will we have better chance to save a child’s life with these crucial times? With an ALERT SYSTEM, surely the chances are better.
Go for NURIN ALERT!
we could have saved her...
ReplyDeleteAssalamualaikum Bro Rocky,
ReplyDeleteI need permission to use your comments in my article. Can I?
Thanks.
Far.
Dear Fariza,
ReplyDeleteSalams. And please go ahead and use it as you please.
Thank you!