KUCHING, March 10 — Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii today called for urgent improvements to the National Urgent Response Alert (Nur Alert) system that informs the public about missing children.
He said the alert should be sent out as quickly and as widespread as possible to speed up the investigation process and increase the chances of the child being found.
He also said based on the announcement by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), cellular users receive Nur Alerts only if they choose to accept them.
“This for me creates all kinds of barriers and limits the outreach of this alert, which is the most important factor for it to be effective and quick,” he said, when commenting on four-year-old Eric Chang who was reported to have gone missing on March 7 from a house in Taman Riverview, Bintawa, here.
Dr Yii added the alert serves an important purpose of asking the public to be on the lookout for the missing child, which is the best weapon to limit the movements of alleged abductors and even deter anyone from planning an abduction.
“However, the accessibility of this Nur Alert is very limited, and from this case alone, I have double checked with multiple people who live in the housing estate, and they have not received any such alert,” he said.
Dr Yii expressed his disappointment that the alert and awareness of the missing child is not widespread even among the residents of that area.
“The Nur Alert is supposedly responsible for spreading information quickly and as fast as possible through SMS/MMS to help trace missing children (below 12 years of age) who could be victims of crime or abuse,” he said.
Dr Yii said there must be a single platform where all such important information can be accessed directly by everyone.
“Any obstacles to obtain such an alert, especially all kinds of confusing consent procedures, should be removed,” he added.
Dr Yii said once such information is obtained, it can be shared easily across social media, such as by malls on their digital notice boards or banks via ATM screens.
He said these premises should also create a platform for the public to inform the authorities should they witness suspicious behaviour or spot the missing child from the alert they received.
“That is why the whole Nur Alert system must be significantly improved as every second counts when it comes to saving a child’s life,” he said.
The child’s 25-year-old mother Dynasty Chang told authorities that she asked a friend to look after her son after she was admitted to Sarawak General Hospital on February 22.
She said she received a call from the friend at around 9am on March 7 asking if she had picked up her son.
After confirming that she had not, Chang lodged a police report at the Bintawa police station and a search involving a police team and the Bintawa community was conducted.
Since then, the whereabouts of the child have remained unknown.
