I was looking for news on reports about Shahrizat’s meeting yesterday and The Star here says it was about welfare officers to track paedophiles and to build a database on perpetrators who could possibly harm children. Bernama reports about a new Child Protection Policy here. I am disappointed that no mention was made about an Amber/Nurin Alert system for Malaysia. Apparently yesterday’s meeting was a follow up to an earlier meeting on child abuse and missing children with the Attorney- General, Inspector-General of Police and non-governmental organisations on Sept 20. Nuraina Samad has more to say about it here.
Okay, is the Amber/Nurin Alert not part of a solution for prevention and safeguarding children? I hope the reason Shahrizat has not said anything is because the Ministry is studying the matter and not because they don’t want to be seen bowing to the public or, worse, not giving face to bloggers. I certainly hope not. In a mature society where freedom of speech is a right that is upheld, public opinion should be taken into consideration. The media, for some strange reason, has not touched on the issue of the Amber Alert all this while. I wonder why? If the FBI is visiting us in Malaysia as reported by the Malay Mail here maybe Tuan IGP, if their trip here is paid for by the Malaysian Government, please can you ask them more about how the Amber Alert works in the US. Maybe we could learn a thing or two aside from the known fact that we have crappy CCTV equipment.
However, Nurin’s father Jazimin Abdul Jalil has given his endorsement for the Nurin Alert and has made an appeal through his message posted on www.nurinjazlin.blogspot.com “Buatlah sesuatu – saya sebagai seorang ayah kepada seorang anak yang malang ini akan sentiasa menyokong sebarang usaha kearah ini…
Abang-abang saya beserta rakan-rakan bloggersnya juga sekarang sedang giat berusaha meminta pihak berkuasa untuk mengujudkan satu mekanisma bagi menangani kes-kes kanak-kanak hilang atau yang diculik seperti yang diamalkan dibeberapa negara maju yaitu “Amber Alert” atau nama tempatan yang dicadangkan yaitu “Nurin Alert”. “
In the mean time, I have selected some Amber Alert success stories from the www.missingkids.com website here to show you why we need it in Malaysia.
June 25, 2007
Baltimore City, MD
A 3-year-old boy was abducted by his mother’s boyfriend who had assaulted the mother the previous night. Due to the abductor’s extended criminal history and the violent circumstances surrounding the abduction, an AMBER Alert was issued. The abductor dropped off the child because of the media outpour on the case. The child was safely rescued.
February 23, 2007
Winchester, Massachusetts
A 17-month-old boy was left in the care of this babysitter. When the child’s mother went to the pick him up and found that he, the sitter, and the sitter’s 17-month-old child were gone, she notified authorities. When law enforcement determined that the children may have been in danger, an AMBER Alert was issued. Tips from the Alert led law enforcement to the area when the suspect was. The suspect was apprehended and the children were safely recovered.
January 26, 2007
Maricopa, Arizona
A 6-year-old girl was abducted by a family acquaintance. It was learned that the suspect is a sex offender, and an AMBER Alert was quickly issued. The suspect heard the AMBER Alert and released the child along a road. A citizen driving in the area, who had also heard the Alert, recognized the child, picked her up, and notified law enforcement. The child was successfully recovered.
January 9, 2007
Franklin County, Missouri
A 13-year-old boy disappeared while walking home from his school bus stop. A friend who had seen the boy start to walk home noticed a vehicle speeding away from the direction he had gone. An AMBER Alert was issued. A few days later authorities spotted a vehicle fitting the description in the AMBER Alert. The child was located inside the apartment of the vehicle’s owner, as was a 15-year-old boy who had disappeared while riding his bicycle more than four years ago. The suspect was apprehended, and both children were safely recovered and reunited with their families.
December 23, 2006
Beaumont, Texas
A 7-year-old boy and his 6-year-old brother were in the back seat of a vehicle when it was carjacked by two men. The children’s mother, who was in the front passenger seat waiting for their father, was thrown from the vehicle by the suspects before they drove off. An AMBER Alert was quickly issued. A law enforcement officer in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, who had been made aware of the AMBER Alert, spotted the vehicle and a chase ensued. The vehicle soon wrecked and the suspects were apprehended. The children were successfully recovered.
April 24, 2006
Ramapo, New York
A13-year-old girl was abducted while walking home. A witness saw a car pull up next to the child and the passengers grab the child and put her into a trunk, and then speed off. An AMBER Alert was quickly issued. A woman had seen the AMBER Alert on television later noticed the wanted car on her property. She notified authorities, who arrived at the scene to find the child still locked in the truck. The child was safely recovered.
October 7, 2005
Ottumwa, Iowa
A 9-year-old Girl was abducted from a school bus stop. Law enforcement soon identified a suspect and an AMBER Alert was issued. A citizen who has heard the Alert reported that the suspect may be in a certain area of some local woods. Following a search of this area, the suspect was located and apprehended, and the child was safely recovered.
March 14, 2005
Oneonta, Alabama
A 14-year-old girl was believed to have been taken against her will by a man she had been corresponding with on the Internet. An AMBER Alert was issued. The suspect’s boss saw the AMBER Alert and immediately notified authorities of the man’s whereabouts. The suspect lead police to where he was keeping the child. The suspect was arrested and the child was safely recovered.
September 22, 2004
Wakulla County, Florida
A 12-year-old child was lured from her home by a registered sex offender. An AMBER Alert was activated in Florida. Georgia’s Levi’s Call was activated when it was determined they may be in Georgia. A tip was received by the FBI indicating that the child and suspect seen on television may be in a local hotel in Douglas County, GA. Subsequently, the child and suspect were located in the area of the hotel. The suspect was arrested and the child was returned to her family.
July 30, 2004
Everett, Massachusetts
Two teen girls were abducted from a residence by a man with a violent history. The suspect contacted one of the children’s family members and demanded a ransom. Minutes after an AMBER Alert was issued, a motorist spotted the vehicle and notified authorities. Police were immediately at the scene, and, following a brief chase, the children were safely recovered. The suspect fled on foot but was captured shortly thereafter.
Terima kasih Tembam kerana menyenaraikan saya di Blogger For Nurin Alert, by the way my name is Azhad and not Azad.
Saya turut merasa hampa bila tiada liputan tentang usaha Amber Alert di Malaysia. Kejayaan dan keberkesanan Amber Alert di luar negara serta bilangan kes kanak-kanak hilang di negara ini sepatut sudah cukup untuk pihak berkuasa menyedari keperluan mewujudkannya di sini.
Cuba tanya kepada setiap keluarga yang pernah menjadi mangsa sebelum ini, mereka yang pernah kehilangan anak dan mereka yang masih mencari anak yang hilang. Pasti jawapan mereka ya kepada Amber Alert di Malaysia.
Jika Amber Alert tidak diperlukan atas alasan untuk tidak mahu rakyat merasa bimbang atau tidak mahu perkara ini diperbesarkan, saya sungguh kecewa sekali. Jika tidak sekarang, bila?
Hi Azhad, okay I dah betulkan. Maaf ya! Itulah Azhad, selepas membaca tentang Amber Alert di blog Nuraina saya turut tertarik dgn sistem yg mudah dan berkesan ini. Saya surf internet untuk maklumat terperinci yang begitu banyak saperti tersenarai di blogroll Support Services for Families with Missing Children. Saya search juga sumber maklumat di media Malaysia. Hampa belaka, Yg saya jumpa beberapa blog selain dari Nuraina dan Princess Journals yg juga menyentuh tentang perkara ini.
Tak mungkin pihak berwajib tak tahu sebab sistem ni dah lama dijalankan di US dan beberapa negara lain. Hati kecil ini tertanya2 kenapa tak dilaksanakan di Malaysia. Bukan perlu perbelanjaan lebih, hanya sistem perlaksanaan diperjelaskan dan diperketatkan. Semuanya tetap dibawah kawalan pihak Polis dan tak mungkin disalahgunakan. Jika sistem tu sedia ada, tak perlu lah nak cari penaja poster saperti usaha murni RHB Bank. Jika semua pihak bersatu, tubuhkan satu unit khas untuk kanak2 hilang yg dipertanggungjawabkan untuk kendalikan Amber Alert (atau Nurin Alert Malaysia) adakan sistem yg jelas dan didik masyarakat dan semua pihak tentang langkah berjaga2 yg perlu diambil, sudah pasti semua pihak boleh mainkan peranan.
Pada hemat saya, perkara Nurin Alert ini di”low profile”kan untuk mengelak dari disalaherti atau disalahanggap. Saya pun tak faham Azhad. Saya hanya menyuarakan pendapat dan berkongsi maklumat yg disalurkan diblog ini. Niat saya supaya semua pihak ambil iktibar daripada tragedi pilu ini. Tiada motif lain oleh kerana saya benci politiking, tak kira daripada pihak mana. Bila perlu pemimpin bersuara mereka berdiam, bila perkara remeh temeh dipersoalkan, lantang mereka bersuara, tak kira mana2 parti sekalipun. Sama2 lah kita berdoa kepada Allah SWT semoga terbuka pintu hati mereka2 yg berkenaan.
Tembam, I just saw the nurinalert website…I don’t know if its wise or tasteful to have Nurin’s image in death being played over and over again…
I just came back from Seksyen 1 Wangsa Maju. I went to block A6 and Nurin’s was block D, I think. I saw the pasar malam…looked so innocent.
The walkways/pathways to the blocks were SO dark…my God…there was no lighting/ or barely enough in the whole complex and I was afraid myself that someone would just grab me from behind the cars or bushes or trees or the garbage area…unbelievable…Nurin was braver than me…definitely…
She could have been taken there for all we know…apala nasib rakyat jelata..bergelap…bersabung nyawa setiap hari tanpa kemudahan yang secukupnya…
Tehsin
Okay terima kasih.
Jika kita semua terus berusaha, insyaAllah Amber Alert (Nurin Alert) akan menjadi kenyataan.
Hi Tehsin! Will bring this up with Nik Fareez at our meeting today, insyaAllah. Like me initially I was attracted to those photos pf Nurin when she was young but the later photos of her were just too unbearable. I took it down from my own blog. Let him know by email okay!
You mean even after Nurin those blocks are not well lighted? My goodness I though they would have learnt. Memang pasar malam in that area is small and the stalls are just lined up along the well lighted street. It is an old area so the residents possibly feel secure and know each other well enough. Vehicles are usually parked at the periphery of the pasar which is often dark. So it is easy for anyone to just drive away from the edges of the pasar as the area is blocked off to stop cars going through when it gets crowded.
I’m thinking the attraction of living in that area is the easy going kampung like lifestyle. I mean people just walk over to the Jaya Jusco supermarket in their slippers, pajamas or sarong. There is an LRT station nearby and a brisk Ramadan Bazar during fasting month. It’s multiracial and aside from the occasional snatch theft stories it is very difficult to believe that such a thing could happen to Nurin. Life has certainly changed Tehsin.
Hi Azhad. Ya kita perlu teruskan usaha. Tembam harap lagi ramai bloggers turut sampaikan maklumat mengenai Amber/Nurin Alert ni kepada kawan2 dan group blogger mereka. InsyaAllah, kita harap sistem ni akan menjadi realit suatu hari untuk keselamatan generasi akan datang.
Blog on bro!