KUALA LUMPUR: Puteri Umno said it has activated its election machinery since the end of the last general election and now their agendas have grown from talking about politics to addressing issues concerning women and children.
Puteri Umno Legal Bureau Chief Natassia Roslan said the wing gets itself involved with issues such as sexual abuse among children, divorce, as well as, helping women to either find a job or create one.
Natassia said she had personally met many sexual abuse victims, especially among children and Puteri Umno has laid out programmes to create awareness among Malaysians.
One of the effort, she said was when the wing voiced out its proposal of creating a syllabus on sex education for school children. Unfortunately, the idea was shot down during last year’s Umno General Assembly.
“It is not their fault because there’s still a stigma and many do not fully comprehend what it is about. Sex education does not mean we will be teaching the children how to have sex. That is definitely out of the question.
“What Puteri meant by sex education is for the children to know who can touch them, which parts of their bodies are not supposed to be touched and what they should do if someone touched them inappropriately,” she said.
Natassia said, if the words “sex education” brings discomfort in the public, it can always be changed to different words, as long as the children are taught to know their rights.
In an upcoming event titled “Rock Solid Pink Walk and Run” this July 30, Natassia said that participants will be able to choose either to enter the 10km run or the 2km walk.
For the 2km walk, participants will have to go through several checkpoints where a number of activists and non-governmental organisations will be stationed there to educate participants on currents issues.
“For the checkpoint involving NGOs who championed children issues, the runner will have to answer questions related to it and from there, he or she will gain new knowledge.”
Commenting further, Natassia said while Puteri Umno realised that there are cases where family members hide the facts either because they are embarrassed or simply to protect someone, there are others way that the issue can be addressed.
If family members failed to take action, she said the children should turn to their teachers, adding that teachers too must be informed on this.
“What’s the point if the teacher ends up calling the parents, right? So we must explain to the teachers that if a child tells them about this, they must act accordingly, not just calling the parents.”
Last March, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said tabled the Sexual Offences against Children Bill 2017 for its first reading during the last Dewan Rakyat session.
In addressing cases where perpetrators managed to escape punishment due to lack of evidence, the bill provided that a child's statements and evidence will be prioritised as "a child is to be competent to give evidence".
The sexual crimes bill was fast-tracked following pressure from civil groups and the public to immediately enact laws that would provide greater protection to children, particularly against online grooming.