MCA has sounded the alarm on the concerning discovery of several social media groups that appear to be promoting the sexual grooming of children, saying this is a stark reminder that the country must remain vigilant in safeguarding its children.
Beliawanis MCA chairperson Ivone Low Yi Wen was responding to a New Straits Times report on Oct 28 on the discovery of these social media groups which have thousands of members and often contained sexually overt postings with pictures of children or pre-teens.
She said the fact that some of these groups have been operating for years, with one even dating back to 2014 and had around 4,600 members is evident that the issue extends beyond what had been reported.
“The true extent of child grooming or sexploitation online has yet to be fully uncovered perhaps due to privacy settings or in the dark web. Many cases go unreported out of fear and shame,” she reckoned.
“The actual figures would be predictably much higher. Currently, the statistics stand at an alarming 18,326 child victims of crime from 2018 until Nov 30, 2024, of whom 81 cases were categorised as child grooming and another 92 involved child sexual abuse material as recorded by the Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division of Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department.”
According to Low, it is crucial for parents, guardians and children to be aware of what their underage children and students are engaging with online, or who they are meeting outside school and home.
“Monitoring their browsing habits and social media interactions besides educating them to look out for signs of child grooming can help prevent more minors from falling victims to paedophile predators,” she stressed.
“Most importantly, support and encourage youngsters to lodge a police report and not fear shame or retribution.”
Low said the country cannot afford to allow the existence or pervasiveness of a local Richard Huckle in its midst, and must unite as a community to ensure that our children are safe from child grooming, sexploitation and abuse.
For context, Huckle was a convicted British paedophile who had sexually preyed on scores of Malaysian and Cambodian children a decade ago.
The child rapist – dubbed Briton’s worst paedophile – was serving 22 life sentences for abusing nearly 200 children was sodomised and tortured before being strangled to death by a fellow prisoner in 2019.
“We encourage all parents, guardians and educators to take an active role in their children’s online lives and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities immediately,” Low added.
“The collaboration between the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the police is vital in tackling this issue effectively.
“Society needs to collectively combat this threat and foster a safer online environment for our children. Vigilance needs to be prioritised as every minor deserves to be safe from harm.” – Oct 30, 2024
Main image: The Star
