By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, Sept 8 — The state government plans to launch a sexual education campaign for children as an exposure measure, aimed at preventing them from becoming victims.
State executive councillor for family development, welfare, and women empowerment Anfaal Saari said that the plan will be discussed with the National Population and Family Development Board as well as the district education office to assess the programme’s suitability, including the campaign’s implementation.
“However, this education issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal government. (But) we want to outline and expose children to sexual education issues.
“We are holding a campaign because we need to use appropriate methods to help them understand. We do not want them to become overly curious about inappropriate things.
“The most basic thing is perhaps to teach them which parts of their body can be touched and what actions to take if they feel uncomfortable being touched,” she said.
Anfaal added that they have already launched a child safety campaign for children in cars and so far, it has received positive feedback, with the number of cases decreasing.
Concerning the recent viral incident involving a school bus driver, she urged the public to not view it as something normal, even if such acts are carried out by family members themselves.
“This is even more the case if it is done by an outsider. Drivers must ensure the safety of the children, not just until they reach their destination, but also throughout the journey.
“They should not be disturbed, and this is one of the causes of child sexual grooming,” she said.
Early Friday (September 6) morning, the police arrested a 24-year-old man after he uploaded a video of his passengers, believed to be primary school students, whom he referred to as his ‘crush’ and ‘favourites’ on social media.
The post was met with outrage from parents, who believed the content to be inappropriate and could be considered sexual harassment towards children.
The account owner, using the name ‘Abang Bas’, with over 600,000 followers, uploaded videos while driving a school bus, with the faces of the primary school students clearly visible behind him.
