Has it been 100 days already since Nurin went missing? I hadn’t realised that until I finally got home and read Jasni’s blog. We had just touched base earlier with Nuraina to meet with four high ranking officials from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to discuss the NURIN Alert. The meeting had been planned for sometime and I’m sure you will read more about it in Jasni’s and Nuraina’s blogs as well as in the next issue of TELL magazine. I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to Cik Meme Zainal Rashid, the Director-General of the Social Welfare Department for inviting the Citizens’ For Nurin Alert (CFNA) to meet with her team to discuss how the NURIN Alert could be incorporated into the Child Protection Policy. It was a fruitful meeting and we managed to discuss various aspects of the existing systems that would need to be better coordinated in order for the NURIN Alert to be implemented.
During the meeting it was clear that the Ministry officials had been waiting for us and were keen to hear our views and they too agreed many of the shortcomings in the system that had been made obvious in the search for Nurin Jazlin Jazimin during those crucial days. This included the response from the police, the media’s role and the support given to parents like Jazimin who had to shoulder the burden of finding Nurin alone in those first few days before media attention got the public and police involved. Listening to Jasni having to re-live those painful moments of his younger brother’s lone crusade to find his missing child made us think of Nurin and what she must have suffered through those 28 days. The officials who were listening quietly as Jasni spoke were visibly moved.
This was no discussion about some dry policy. It was not a heated discussion to lay blame on anyone. This was no show of displeasure against the government. What they were listening to was a cry from the heart of an uncle who lost his beloved niece in a most brutal way. This was a man who saw his brother’s anguish, shared in his pain and lent him his quiet strength to cushion the younger man from the crushing blow of discovering Nurin’s crumpled and broken body. Jasni is softspoken with a calm and soothing voice, yet his message was so powerful that it could not be ignored. Nurin would have been alive today if we had all done our part to find her!
Even though she was not with us in that room, we felt her presence. That sweet smiling child was there with us as we spoke of how important it was to have this system in place and why we had named it after her. No one disagreed with us. Indeed there were positive signs of changes had already been put in place since Nurin. The police are now required to act immediately when there is a report of a missing child. The media too are being asked to come out with their role in the Child Protection Police. Rakancop was discussed as a viable channel that could be explored as a means to alert the public when cases of missing children are reported. The role of Citizens for Nurin Alert was also discussed. I believe Jasni will have more information on that soon.
All said and done, it was a good meeting that ended on a warm note. I believe we understood each other better. It was agreed that the NURIN Alert (should the authorities decide to use this name) would be of great help to the police as the community would be mobilised to be on the look out. Not only will this reduce the burden of finding the missing child from the parents and the police, it will also get the community involved in a more coordinated manner. With better coordination, we agreed that we would stand a better chance of finding a missing child alive. The next step would be for the Ministry to spell out the details to be incorporated into the Child Protection Policy and to discuss it’s implementation with the stakeholders concerned. The meeting was adjourned with mutual appreciation of each other’s role in making NURIN Alert a positive contribution towards the safety and protection of children in Malaysia.
And all this because of Nurin. I am sure she knows we did not speak her name in vain today.
Temban,
With your efforts and Kak Ena’s, along with Jasni and others would ensure that Nurin’s passing would not be in vain. Please keep it up and this would pressure the authorities to act. We MUST keep her memory alive… Thanks Sis.
Hi Mat Salo. Never before has there been such an outcry for something to be done to address the issue of missing children. If anything, I give credit to the bloggers such as yourself and the initiators such as Farina (www.princessjournals.blogspot.com) and Nuraina (www.nursamad.blogspot.com). The rest of us took it up and went with it to the max. I am still manic about telling more bloggers to come join us. Bloggers have a powerful communition tool in their respective blogs bro. We gotta use it for the greater good.
Did you know that Jasni was not sure what to do in the beginning. But because we kept blogging about it, he finally gained confidence and is now speaking out on this issue like a pro. He is not doing it for any reason other than to make sure no one else has to go through what his brother and Nurin’s family had to go through. If we could turn the clock, we would rather have Nurin here with us. But Allah loves her more and she left us in a way that made us never forget her ever.
Take care Mat Salo.
posted in Nurin’s blog:
GREAT JOB!!
Nurin will be the angel who will save hundreds of missing children via NURIN ALERT.
I still feel the pain in my heart when I think of Nurin and what she had to suffer for 28 days.
Nurin did not die in vain and her memory will be kept alive forever.
Despite all of us living in a unsafe environment, it is good to know that there are still many caring people like you, Tembam, Nuraina and the rest pushing for Nurin Alert.
Have a great weekend !
p.s. this is great news tembam and I am so glad things are moving positively ahead, we dont want another Nurin, society & the police had failed Nurin when she needed us most. Let’s not fail the next child missing.
Hi Mary Kate! Yes indeed, we still feel that pain because we are all humans. How can anyone not care. I wish we had done something about this before Nurin but it took a tragedy such as hers to mobilise us.
Mary Kate, we are learning too about what it takes to change things. It’s no use screaming, shouting and hurling accusations. What we need is constructive dialogue. The officials have the proper channels. What they need is feedback from the ground. When the policy is drafted, tabled, debated and passed, they will need us to keep a lookout to make sure it is being implemented. Public feedback is important and that is what we are giving them.
We could try to do this on our own but without the mechanisms in place, it will remain purely a passing fancy that willl die when the passions die out. With procedures in place to compel the police and the media to play their part, then only can the community work more effectively with the authorities. Then only can it work to save a child alive!
Cheers!
….and why no picture of you? Dont la be camera shy, I am looking forward to that famous pic of tembam
cheerio
Kah, kah, kah!!! Mary Kate you read Nuraina’s blog. Ya lor, all my old boyfriends will die of shock to see me so Tembam. Let them remember me as slim, svelte and seductive. Sigh, like I ever was!!!!
Nanti lah, ada sebabnya I have to remain unseen for a bit longer. Anyway, someone had to take the photo. En Dollah volunteered to take it but I felt it important that the officials be in the picture. They were great!
I will come out of the closet after losing 30 kgs. Like there is any chance of that happening soon…double sigh!!
It breaks my heart again having to read and know once more that Nurin had to live through that 28 days of darkness and horror, fear, helpless, tortured, pain and in hunger! Why we adults were so ignorant at that point of time? We read the news, we knew that she was missing, but we just treated it as though it was just another social news of Malaysia? Read and we forgot and thought the police was more than capable of their job?
Then It took her death, I mean her death in such a form to hit us and made us realize how unsafe our environment is and how inadequate our system is for children. I regret. I really regret.
But, Temban and all those out there to push NURIN ALERT, my salutes to all of you. You are kind souls who shed lights to children in this world of darkness. Nurin will be more than pleased that after all her death is not in vain.
Push on, push on for NURIN ALERT.
but seriously, where do we stand on this?
Hi Tembam,
This is great work that you folks are doing in educating the masses of this tragedy. Its always sad that despite such tragdies its quickly forgotten that nothing was actually done about it so i guess its down to ppl like yourself in keep reminding everyone that the problem is not done with.All the best in your efforts and i too will be on constant “bugging” to the public of this tragedy(s)
http://www.abinesh.com
Tembam,
The fat is not who u are la…it’s the soul inside..u feel beautiful, u look beautiful la…don’t let society’s ideals of starving beauties make u hide yourself…..tgk la queen latifah…for health reasons, i can accept that u want to lose 30kgs, but not for people la…I look at myself and see voluptuous, poorah ngan orang yang nampak otherwise…their hang-up…I love my food…I’m not gonna starve so people say I look good…betui tak, Tembam?
Anyway, great job u guys…I do hope the name Nurin will be taken up by the authorities in the alert system…apala salahnya…menandakan titik berakhirnya pembunuhan kejam sebegitu, InsyaAllah…unless the parents want otherwise….
Hi Steph, I know it still haunts us. In trying to make some sense out of this horrible episode we bloggers got together initally to pour out our grief, to mourn her, to regret we didn’t help find her. We did our soul searching together. As a result we felt we needed to act and prevent another Nurin. We hope as a nation and as human beings that we never ever have to go through this again. We need more people to be aware that we can make something positive happen out of this tragedy. Turn your anger, grief, pain and even remorse into something positive Steph. Let’s do it together.
Cheers.
Hi Earl-ku, hey thanks for the visit. Our stand is that the Ministry will pursue the policy part of NURIN Alert that will improve the existing system of handling missing children. Once incorporated into the Child Protection Policy, the police and the media will need to comply. A more streamlined system for community involvement will also be spelled out. If you need to find out more about NURIN Alert, read my earlier blogs or get a copy of TELL magazine.
As for the Citizens for NURIN Alert, visit Jasni at http://www.nurinjazlin.blogspot.com to find out more. I believe we will be seeing the setting up of a centre manned by volunteers that will assist the police in getting the news out to the public when a child is reported missing. Watch that space.
There is no real stand that needs to be taken. The system is not a political issue as is just a system of procedures to be folllowed whenever a child is reported missing. The system has been in use in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, the EU and South Korea. Hope that explains it.
Hi Abi, so glad you came to visit. I went on a comment spree on all blogs that posted messages of condolences and expressions of grief over Nurin. I wanted all bloggers who cared enough to blog about Nurin, like you did, to keep spreading the word. There is so much we can do as concerned citizens if we only pull together. Imagine each blog having their own readership and all those visitors reading about the Nurin Alert. That will create a ripple effect in blogosphere like never before.
Abi, I am not usually this crazed about bugging people but I thought, hey if you guys really care let’s do something about it. We can do it if we do it together bro. Keep blogging and bugging bro!
Cheers.
Hi Tehsin, as passionate as ever sis. Have you heard of the terminal velocity in free fall when if you reach that point, you no longer fall? You sort of get suspended like the sky divers. Well same goes with me. I’ve reached terminal fat, the point of no return. No matter how much I eat or don’t eat, it ain’t gonna make me any thinner. Bukan worried about that tapi nanti la, tiba masanya you will see Tembam in the flesh!!
Ya lah, sis. We hope NURIN Alert will be a workable functionaing system. So many missing kids still not found. Jasni said if Nurin’s body had not been returned where would we be. Think about all those other kids that have yet to be found. This is only the first step. We need prevention, education, awareness and more efforts to find all those “cold” cases. The fact that citizens care enough to do something about it really means a lot too you know.
Take care.
Do you think Nurin death will be a good impact for those parents out there. ? ?
I assumed that the reason for the death is still unsolved
Hi x-brain. Thanks for visiting. I am not sure about your question? Did it have an impact on parents? Yes, not only on parents but on everyone including you. What do you mean by good? I don’t think it is a question of good or bad impact. It is a question of wanting to prevent another Nurin. There is much we do not know about in handling cases of missing children. Nurin’s case highlighted that and we need to address those shortcomings. We as a society failed Nurin. but we must learn from this tragedy so that we will never have to face another Nurin again.
What about her killer? If a case has gone on this long, it will be difficult for the police to find hard evidence. But what should we as a society do in the mean time? Sit back in judgement and not do anything positive? Then Nurin’s death would have been in vain. Nurin’s killers are still out there and he/she/they may strike again.
Should that ever happen again, God forbid, what do we do X-brain? Sit and wait for other people to do something? And then if a dead body turns up we go around blaming the police, the parents, the government, the whole world? Come on, get real! We can do something about it and Nurin Alert will get the entire community working together with the police and the media to rescue the child alive. Will it work? It has in many countries.
My question is, would just waiting and condemning the police for not solving the case change anything? Without hard evidence the police cannot act. Had the Nurin Alert been in place, the media would have mobilised the entire community to help the police find the child and the perpetrator. Unfortunately nobody did anything except criticse and condemn.
Do you think Malaysians care enough about Nurin to want to prevent another tragedy such as hers? That is the question you should be asking!
hi, how do we join the Citizens for NURIN Alert ?
Hi Pretty Beautiful (Oops silap! I thought you were Pugly ie Pretty Ugly!). You can register your interest at sos@nurinalert.org Also include contact details so Nik Farez will be able inform you of updates etc. He is still trying to get the website up I think. It is at http://www.nurinalert.org Hopefully that will be ready soon. So sign up okay.
Cheers.