KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pix) has reminded parents to play a more aggressive role in monitoring their children’s activities on social media to prevent them from falling prey to sexual exploitation.
She said the issue of exploitation of children for sex was very worrying, especially in the current borderless world which provides easy access to gadgets and the Internet.
“We need to instil awareness on the existence of cyber sex grooming in social media and we want children to be equipped with information and guidelines so that they would not fall victim to irresponsible parties.
“Besides, latest findings show the disgusting nature of the Dark Web on child pornography which was downloaded by Internet users in Malaysia,” she said at the #KidsTakeOverParliament: Kita Peduli programme at the Banquet Hall of Parliament building today.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching and Unicef permanent representative in Malaysia, Marianne Clark-Hattingh, also attended the programme, which was organised by the Education Ministry and Unicef Malaysia, and Project ID on the issue of bullying in schools, which was attended by 40 students from throughout the country.
On the phenomenon of bullying, Dr Wan Azizah said she believed with the education system and support from family and the community, the problem could be jointly tackled.
“We all have to play our role and responsibility in inculcating a positive environment so that this trend of violence can be checked,” said Dr Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister.
Teo, in her speech, said the Education Ministry had cooperated with various agencies to plan intervention and support measures for victims of bullying to ensure they did not end up in depression and lose their self-esteem.
At the programme, the children, who were victims of bullying, presented their views on the issue of bullying for MPs as well as proposed anti-bullying measures for implementation in schools to Teo, as witnessed by Dr Wan Azizah. - Bernama
