KUALA LUMPUR: To ensure the safety of children at nurseries, the police and Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will begin a mandatory screening on the backgrounds of babysitters soon, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
The Women, Family and Community Development Minister said the ministry and the police have principally agreed to cooperate to tighten the guidelines for hiring babysitters.
According to Nancy, the matter was decided during a recent meeting with Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
She said the police will be tasked with checking the candidates’ criminal record while the ministry will check certain criteria including the mental health of the babysitters.
“Recently, I had a discussion with the Deputy IGP where we (the ministry) made a request for them (the police) to help vet babysitter candidates.
“Principally, we have agreed on this. The police have agreed to cooperate by giving feedback whether those applying to be babysitters are qualified.
“This decision was only made last week. The ministry has requested for a further discussion to formalise this initiative,” she told a press conference at the KL Sentral here on Tuesday (Oct 31).
According to Nancy, the application process of babysitters must be tightened with the relevant screenings to ensure children's safety as well as prevent violence in nurseries.
"Even though it will also be an obstacle for the babysitters if they are not approved, what is important is the child's welfare and safety.
“Recently, there were reports of non-local citizens becoming nannies. This is a challenge for us to make sure it does not happen because foreigners do not come to this country to be caregivers,” she said.
It was reported that a two-month-old baby girl died while under the care of a babysitter at a nursery in Section 6, Kota Damansara, recently.
The Social Welfare Department later confirmed that the childcare centre was not registered.
Earlier, Nancy launched the Strategic Partnership Programme on Anti-Sexual Harassment Advocacy with Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd.
She said statistics by the police revealed that cases of sexual harassment stood at 477 cases last year, 506 cases in 2021 and 378 cases in 2020.
“Majority of the victims are women. Statistics showed that every year, more than 90% of sexual harassment cases involved women,” she said.
