The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is considering making the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) as a mandatory condition for renewing childcare centre licenses.
According to Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, the Minister of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, this measure needs to be taken to curb cases of children being abused at childcare centres. Despite previous stipulations under the Child Care Centre Act 1984 and the Child Care Centre Regulations 2012, some centres have not installed CCTV even after being asked to comply. Therefore, the ministry will meet with agencies, departments, and industry players to discuss actions that can be taken, such as not renewing the licenses of centres that do not have CCTV installed. Nancy Shukri announced this at a media conference held in Sematan on Sunday (Aug 13).
Nancy Shukri added, “The installation cost should not be an issue as CCTV systems are quite affordable. We want to hear feedback and finetune this measure before implementing it.”
In addition, Nancy Shukri highlighted the need to study in detail the closure of childcare centres that are linked to abuse cases. She emphasized that such closures can negatively impact working parents who rely on these centres to care for their children. Nancy Shukri stated, “We cannot simply close down childcare centres because of one case. We need to consider the burden it will place on other parents.” The first half of this year alone has seen 3,767 reported cases of children in need of protection and care in Malaysia.
On Friday (Aug 11), it was reported that the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry planned to enforce the installation of CCTV at every registered childcare centre in an effort to curb child abuse cases. – Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
