KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is collaborating with telecommunication companies in what it deems as its 'jihad' against paedophiles.
Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said the ministry is, among others, looking to develop an application to help parents monitor and track their children’s activities online.
“This is a 'jihad', we are bent on finding them even into (proverbial) wormholes,” she said, acknowledging that the ministry is entering foreign territory in its campaign against sex predators.
She further hoped to ready these apps, possibly for free for parental use, as soon as possible.
“Digi, for one, was agreeable to helping us out,” said Rohani, adding that these engagements started in 2015 as a move leading up to the recent amendment of the Child Act.
Also roped in was the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, adding that the ministry is also looking to filter and delete risky sites with the help of the agency.
Rohani was speaking on the sidelines of TV3’s 'Soal Jawab' programme.
The ministry has also published a book on its action plan on the protection of children in the digital age, which it hopes to update online soon.
Meanwhile on the WeChat issue where police arrested 24-year-old for doping and raping a 12-year-old girl on a number of occasions, Rohani expressed disappointment with the child’s parents for failing to detect something amiss sooner.
“Parents must be ever watchful of their kids in the digital age as sex predators could easily enter their very home unknown to them through the advent of the Internet.”
“They should also invest in apps and systems to monitor their kids,” she added.
It was earlier reported that the two engaged in sex at various locations including hotels, after she was drugged with syabu or (methamphetamine).
The mother, who eventually discovered the relationship, had then taken the girl to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital for a check-up on Sunday.
Following that, the mother lodged a police report on the same day after being advised that there were old and new tears found at the girl's private parts.It is believed that the girl also had sex with others before meeting the man in question.