Kuala Lumpur: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has called on the authorities to swiftly implement comprehensive measures to tackle the increasingly alarming crime of online child sexual exploitation. In a Facebook post today, she stressed that all forms of cyber threats, particularly those targeting children, must be addressed firmly and without delay. Her call came in response to the shocking discovery of a Facebook group dubbed ‘Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah’, which allegedly shares sexually explicit content involving primary schoolchildren and has over 12,000 members.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nurul Izzah highlighted that several existing legal provisions can be used to prosecute perpetrators of online sexual crimes against children, acknowledging the importance of such measures. However, she pointed out that there are still many gaps to be addressed, weaknesses to be improved, and follow-up actions to be implemented immediately to protect those most vulnerable to this threat. She noted that perpetrators of sexual crimes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, utilizing technology and the dark web to cover their tracks.
In response to this growing threat, Nurul Izzah proposed a structured, firm, and comprehensive effort by government agencies, including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM). She urged the Ministry of Communications and MCMC to present a clear, transparent, and effective monitoring mechanism to assess the level of digital protection for children. Furthermore, she called on KPWKM and PDRM to release public reports on both current and previous cases related to online sexual crimes to ensure transparency and accountability.
To strengthen protection efforts, Nurul Izzah suggested making the Child Sexual Offender Registry accessible to the public to facilitate community-level prevention and protection initiatives. She emphasized that this is about protection, not shaming, and proposed emulating cross-border cooperation between police forces, as demonstrated by 13 Latin American countries and seven European nations through the Europe-Latin America Initiative for the Safety of Children and Adolescents (ELIPSIA).
Additionally, Nurul Izzah recommended that the Ministry of Education enhance the health education curriculum by incorporating elements of online safety, enabling students to identify predators and inappropriate behavior in cyberspace.