Latest news with #ChildSexualOffenderRegistry
The Star
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Nurul Izzah calls for immediate govt action to combat online child sexual exploitation
PETALING JAYA: Nurul Izzah Anwar has called for immediate and coordinated government action to combat online child sexual exploitation. The PKR deputy president described the issue as a 'national disgrace' that demanded collective responsibility from the authorities and society. Her remarks come in the wake of the exposure of a Facebook group, Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah, which had amassed more than 12,000 members who were allegedly sharing and passively viewing sexually explicit content involving primary school children. "This is not just an alarming incident; it is a national disgrace. "Shutting down the group is not enough. We need immediate, coordinated and decisive actions,' she said in a statement Sunday (June 22). She urged agencies such as the Communications Ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), police and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to intensify efforts against digital predators preying on children. She called on the MCMC and the Communications Ministry to disclose their current monitoring mechanisms and to demonstrate their effectiveness in detecting child exploitation online. She also urged police and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to release public updates on the recent case and similar cases that have remained outside public scrutiny. Nurul Izzah also demanded a progress report on the implementation of the Online Safety Act and a briefing in Parliament on the effectiveness of the D11 sexual crimes unit, including additional funding to enhance its operations. "Malaysia must upgrade its systems to provide early warning for the public. "To protect our children, we must emulate global initiatives like the Europe-Latin America Initiative for the Safety of Children and Adolescents, a cross-continental police cooperation network tackling child exploitation online,' she said. Nurul Izzah also proposed public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry, which was established in 2019, not for public shaming but to safeguard communities. She urged the Education Ministry to strengthen its health syllabus with digital safety awareness topics. "We applaud social media activists and influencers such as Mekyun and others for bravely exposing online sexual exploitation to raise public awareness. "It is time to band together,' she said. The former Permatang Pauh MP also spoke of her own experience as a victim of online threats, when she received gang rape threats earlier this year. She said the individual was formally charged with 11 counts of posting indecent and obscene comments about her on Facebook. Nurul Izzah stressed that while legal tools exist to tackle online sexual crimes, many gaps remain in terms of enforcement, awareness and prevention. According to official 2023 data, child sexual crimes increased by 26.5%, while child pornography cases surged by an alarming 139.3%. 'These are not just numbers. They are a collective cry for immediate, systemic reform, not just well-worded laws that gather dust,' she said. She announced that PKR is launching a grassroots campaign to focus on raising public awareness, creating safe spaces for children and strengthening community partnerships with NGOs and educational institutions. 'Parents, teachers, religious leaders, NGOs and the public must rise to protect our children from this growing digital threat,' she said.
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Nurul Izzah calls for clampdown on 'national disgrace' - online child sexual exploitation
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has called for an urgent, coordinated action to tackle the growing threat of online child sexual exploitation. Describing it as a "national disgrace", she said the issue demanded more than just reactive measures. "Even so, there are still significant gaps in the legal provisions that need to be addressed, areas that require improvement and follow-up actions that must be taken swiftly to ensure better protection for those most at risk," she said in a statement. She said this amid public outrage over the recent exposure of a Facebook group called "Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah" , which had more than 12,000 members and was allegedly found to be circulating sexually explicit content of primary schoolchildren. Nurul Izzah said merely shutting down the group was insufficient and urged enforcement agencies to take stronger, transparent action. "The Communications Ministry and MCMC must outline how they monitor digital platforms for such abuses and prove that their detection systems are effective. "The ministry and police can also release public updates on the investigation into the Facebook group and similar past cases that have remained out of public view." Citing her own experience with online sexual threats, Nurul Izzah revealed that she had been targeted with gang rape threats in January. "A police report was lodged and alhamdulillah action was taken — on June 18, the individual responsible was formally charged with publishing 11 obscene and offensive criminal threats against me. "This incident serves as a stark reminder that action must be taken whenever such threats arise, without exception and without delay," she said. Nurul Izzah said the government must provide Parliament with a detailed update on the implementation of the Online Safety Act and offer a comprehensive briefing on the effectiveness of the D11 special police unit, which was established to handle sexual crimes. She called for special allocations to strengthen this unit and said Malaysia should consider adopting an international model similar to ELIPSIA, an initiative involving police forces in Latin America and Europe, to jointly combat online child sexual exploitation. She also advocated for greater public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry, which was launched in 2019, emphasising that the goal is not to shame, but to protect vulnerable communities. Additionally, she proposed that the Education Ministry improve the health education syllabus in schools by incorporating online safety awareness, enabling students to identify grooming behaviour and inappropriate content more effectively. "Offenders are using increasingly sophisticated technologies and the dark web to conceal their actions. "We are always acting too late. The system must evolve to meet the scale of the threat." Nurul Izzah said PKR would be launching a nationwide campaign focused on raising public awareness, offering community-led counselling and support, collaborating with NGOs and schools, setting up awareness counters in public spaces and involving local leaders and district offices in advocacy and monitoring efforts.
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Nurul Izzah calls for urgent clamp down on 'national disgrace' menace
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has called for an urgent, coordinated action to tackle the growing threat of online child sexual exploitation. Describing it as a "national disgrace", she said the issue demanded more than just reactive measures. "Even so, there are still significant gaps in the legal provisions that need to be addressed, areas that require improvement and follow-up actions that must be taken swiftly to ensure better protection for those most at risk," she said in a statement. She said this amid public outrage over the recent exposure of a Facebook group called "Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah" , which had more than 12,000 members and was allegedly found to be circulating sexually explicit content of primary schoolchildren. Nurul Izzah said merely shutting down the group was insufficient and urged enforcement agencies to take stronger, transparent action. "The Communications Ministry and MCMC must outline how they monitor digital platforms for such abuses and prove that their detection systems are effective. "The ministry and police can also release public updates on the investigation into the Facebook group and similar past cases that have remained out of public view." Citing her own experience with online sexual threats, Nurul Izzah revealed that she had been targeted with gang rape threats in January. "A police report was lodged and alhamdulillah action was taken — on June 18, the individual responsible was formally charged with publishing 11 obscene and offensive criminal threats against me. "This incident serves as a stark reminder that action must be taken whenever such threats arise, without exception and without delay," she said. Nurul Izzah said the government must provide Parliament with a detailed update on the implementation of the Online Safety Act and offer a comprehensive briefing on the effectiveness of the D11 special police unit, which was established to handle sexual crimes. She called for special allocations to strengthen this unit and said Malaysia should consider adopting an international model similar to ELIPSIA, an initiative involving police forces in Latin America and Europe, to jointly combat online child sexual exploitation. She also advocated for greater public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry, which was launched in 2019, emphasising that the goal is not to shame, but to protect vulnerable communities. Additionally, she proposed that the Education Ministry improve the health education syllabus in schools by incorporating online safety awareness, enabling students to identify grooming behaviour and inappropriate content more effectively. "Offenders are using increasingly sophisticated technologies and the dark web to conceal their actions. "We are always acting too late. The system must evolve to meet the scale of the threat." Nurul Izzah said PKR would be launching a nationwide campaign focused on raising public awareness, offering community-led counselling and support, collaborating with NGOs and schools, setting up awareness counters in public spaces and involving local leaders and district offices in advocacy and monitoring efforts.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
PKR calls urgent action against online child exploitation
PETALING JAYA: PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has issued an urgent call for coordinated government action against online child sexual exploitation following the recent exposure of a Facebook group containing explicit content involving primary school children. In a statement today, Nurul Izzah described the discovery of the 'Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah' Facebook group, which had over 12,000 members consuming sexually explicit content involving children, as 'not just an alarming incident' but 'a national disgrace.' The statement comes after Nurul Izzah herself was targeted with online gang rape threats in January, with the perpetrator formally charged on June 18, for publishing 11 obscene and offensive criminal threats. Nurul Izzah called for immediate action from several government agencies, including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM). Her demands include requiring MCMC to outline monitoring mechanisms for detecting online child exploitation, public reports from KPWKM and PDRM on similar cases, and a detailed implementation update of the Online Safety Act to be tabled in Parliament. She also called for Parliament briefs on the effectiveness of the special D11 sexual crimes unit established a year ago, suggesting Malaysia emulate international police cooperation networks like ELIPSIA, which operates across 18 countries in Latin America and Europe. According to official 2023 data cited in the statement, child sexual crime cases have risen by 26.5%, while child pornography cases surged by an alarming 139.3%. 'These are not just numbers. They are a collective cry for immediate, systemic reform, not just well-worded laws that gather dust,' Nurul Izzah stated. In line with these developments, PKR announced the launch of a comprehensive grassroots campaign focusing on raising awareness against child sexual exploitation, community-led support teams, and collaborations with NGOs and educational institutions. The campaign will include awareness counters in public spaces and direct involvement of community leaders in advocacy and monitoring efforts. Nurul Izzah also called for easier public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry established in 2019 and enhanced health education curricula incorporating online safety awareness in schools. The statement concluded with a call for shared responsibility among parents, teachers, religious leaders, NGOs, and social media users to confront what she described as 'a growing digital threat.'
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Nurul Izzah calls for urgent action against online child sexual exploitation
PETALING JAYA: PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has issued an urgent call for coordinated government action against online child sexual exploitation following the recent exposure of a Facebook group containing explicit content involving primary school children. In a statement today, Nurul Izzah described the discovery of the 'Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah' Facebook group, which had over 12,000 members consuming sexually explicit content involving children, as 'not just an alarming incident' but 'a national disgrace.' The statement comes after Nurul Izzah herself was targeted with online gang rape threats in January, with the perpetrator formally charged on June 18, for publishing 11 obscene and offensive criminal threats. Nurul Izzah called for immediate action from several government agencies, including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM). Her demands include requiring MCMC to outline monitoring mechanisms for detecting online child exploitation, public reports from KPWKM and PDRM on similar cases, and a detailed implementation update of the Online Safety Act to be tabled in Parliament. She also called for Parliament briefs on the effectiveness of the special D11 sexual crimes unit established a year ago, suggesting Malaysia emulate international police cooperation networks like ELIPSIA, which operates across 18 countries in Latin America and Europe. According to official 2023 data cited in the statement, child sexual crime cases have risen by 26.5%, while child pornography cases surged by an alarming 139.3%. 'These are not just numbers. They are a collective cry for immediate, systemic reform, not just well-worded laws that gather dust,' Nurul Izzah stated. In line with these developments, PKR announced the launch of a comprehensive grassroots campaign focusing on raising awareness against child sexual exploitation, community-led support teams, and collaborations with NGOs and educational institutions. The campaign will include awareness counters in public spaces and direct involvement of community leaders in advocacy and monitoring efforts. Nurul Izzah also called for easier public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry established in 2019 and enhanced health education curricula incorporating online safety awareness in schools. The statement concluded with a call for shared responsibility among parents, teachers, religious leaders, NGOs, and social media users to confront what she described as 'a growing digital threat.'
