KUALA LUMPUR, June 22: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has called for swift measures to combat online child sexual exploitation.
In a Facebook post today, she stressed that all forms of cyber threats, particularly those targeting children, must be addressed firmly and without delay.
Her call came in response to the shocking discovery of a Facebook group dubbed ‘Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah’, which allegedly shares sexually explicit content involving primary schoolchildren and has over 12,000 members.
“It is understood that several existing legal provisions can be used to prosecute perpetrators of online sexual crimes against this group, and the move is very much welcomed.
“However, there are still many gaps that need to be addressed, weaknesses that should be improved, and follow-up actions that must be implemented immediately to protect those most vulnerable to this threat,” she said in the post.
Nurul Izzah said perpetrators of sexual crimes were becoming increasingly sophisticated, including by using technology and the dark web to cover their tracks.
In this regard, she proposed that a structured, firm and comprehensive effort be initiated by government agencies, including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM).
She also urged the Ministry of Communications and MCMC to present a clear, transparent and effective monitoring mechanism to assess the level of digital protection for children.
In addition, she called on KPWKM and PDRM to release public reports on both current and previous cases related to online sexual crimes in the interest of transparency and full accountability to the people.
In an effort to strengthen protection for this group, Nurul Izzah suggested that access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry be made available to the public to facilitate community-level prevention and protection efforts.
“This is not about shaming but about protecting. We can emulate the spirit of cross-border cooperation between police forces, as demonstrated by 13 Latin American countries and seven European nations through the Europe‑Latin America Initiative for the Safety of Children and Adolescents (ELIPSIA),” she said.
In the meantime, Nurul Izzah said the Ministry of Education could enhance the health education curriculum by incorporating elements of online safety, enabling students to identify predators and inappropriate behaviour in cyberspace.
–BERNAMA