Rosmah Mansor advises parents to keep a watchful eye on their Children

Human trafficking and crimes against children are rising steadily in South-East Asia. Rosmah Mansor, the better half of the Prime Minister of Malaysia warns parents to be aware of such dangers. She advises that parents should be strict and firm with their children. Guardians need to be alert whether their children are home at late night or wandering the streets. She also believes that there should be a clear and unbreakable communication channel between the two generations. These initiatives can make a considerable impact on the lowering of various child-related crimes and trafficking.

Malaysia is considered a human trafficking hotspot. The Social Welfare Department states that 5,779 abuse cases were registered between the years 2010 and 2015. This is an unusually high average of 963 cases per year. 1,423 cases of molestation, 2,759 cases of rape, and 412 cases of molestation were recorded by the Malaysian police in 2015-2016.

Steps are being taken to fight child abuse. The Malaysian parliament is creating a bill to address child sex crimes. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak urged political parties not to oppose the bill for the welfare of Malaysia. Special courts will be established to counter abuse cases. Paedophilia tops the list of crimes that will be dealt with in these special courts. The Child Act passed in 2001 has been instrumental in the breaking of child abduction rings around South-East Asia.

Rosmah Mansor says that parents should not have a careless attitude towards their children. If the children are being fussy, let them. “It’s better to let the children to cry than to have the parents to cry later”, she added.

“These cases should not have happened. We should not allow our children to continue to be subjected to exploitation by sexual predators,” Najib Razak stated in a gathering of media recently. The presence of Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Prime Minister, and the Multimedia Minister added weight to his words.