PETALING JAYA: Educate children on steps to take if they get lost or are unable to find their parents, says an activist following the case of six-year-old Albertine Leo Jia Hui who went missing during an event in Johor.
Expressing relief that the girl was rescued within 48 hours, paediatrician and child-disability activist Datuk Dr Amar Singh stressed the importance of conducting role play activities with children.
“Teach them to approach the staff at a (shop’s) checkout or payment counter to ask for help.Incorporating a preschool programme to train all children on safety would also be good,” he said. Dr Amar said it is equally important to routinely train children to be wary of strangers and to never go with them.
“Children aged four to five should be taught their name, address, parents’ names and a phone number.
“It is useful to have this information on the child, attached to a neck or wrist band, that they can show others,” he said.
He urged parents to keep updated photos of their children for identification purposes alongside emergency hotlines.
“The public should act if they see a young child wandering unattended,” he added.
Dr Amar said it is also vital for adults, parents and guardians to closely supervise children in their care at all times. He said some parents also invest in GPS kid trackers attached to children’s clothing or as a wristband. “Some devices have a built-in SOS button, which young kids can press when in a dangerous situation,” he said.
Statistics from the police’s Missing Children Portal showed 253 missing children have yet to be found. The site, which shows records dating back to 2010, revealed that Selangor had the highest number of missing children yet to be found (83).
Sabah had the second highest with 39, followed by Negri Sembilan (21), Kuala Lumpur (20), Johor and Sarawak (14 each), Kelantan and Pahang (12 each), Penang (11), Perak (eight), Kedah (seven), Terengganu (six), Melaka (five) and Perlis (one).
The site displays a mugshot of the child, race, age, house address, recognition features, police report number, as well as the investigation officer overseeing the case.
Those with details on a missing child’s whereabouts can also report it at knk2hilang.rmp.gov.my
Toddler Nisha Chandramohan was the youngest person listed.
She was reported missing in 2010 when she was only two.
