Megawati: Make Asean region "a perfect children's world"

KUALA LUMPUR: Asean must cooperate and agree to fight violent and sex crimes against children, in the effort to make the region a "perfect world for children".
Former president of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri said a fair and specific legal system must be created to protect children.
"Hopefully, we will continue to foster regional cooperation to end all forms of violence. Asean's struggle is not an easy one, this is a joint effort to provide basic human rights. This is Asean's effort to create a perfect world for children," she said.
The fifth president of Indonesia said this in her special message on Asean regional collaboration to fight child sex crimes at the "Stop It!: Child Sex Crimes" seminar at the Putra World Trade Centre, here, today.
Megawati was here at the invitation of the prime minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, who is the patron of Permata.
"Clearly, we cannot stop it by ourselves. A joint effort is needed to resolve the problem by creating a legal system which is fair to women and children," Megawati said.
The two-day seminar which began yesterday and opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was attended by almost 2,000 participants including the wives of political leaders, academicians, childcare centre operators and university students.
Megawati said she believed Malaysia had a strong commitment to resolve the issue in a holistic and comprehensive manner.
She said as Malaysia and Indonesia were in the same region, they could work together to collectively fight for rights and justice.
Megawati, who was Indonesian president from 2001 until 2004, said various policies had been implemented to fight for the rights of children and women in Indonesia.
"In 2002, I as president, approved the decision to draw up the laws to abolish all jobs which abuse children, fight commercial sexual exploitation of children, and to abolish trafficking of women and children," she said. — Bernama