The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry thinks implementation of the alert system is just a matter of formality; that the system is in place and working.

“Actually, I can see the alert system in place, judging by the nationwide efforts to find Sharlinie.

“The response is faster because everyone has learnt the (cost of) delay (in Nur in’s case). Even though there’s no official endorsement of the NURIN Alert yet, I could see the difference — the police acted faster and the NGOs, the public and the media also quickly offered to help,” says its minister, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
Ministry parliamentary secretary Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun says the efforts put into the search of 5-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar in the last few weeks had demonstrated how the early alert system would be like.

Sharlinie went missing on Jan 9 while walking in front of her elder sister, who was on bicycle. The duo were on their way home after spending time at a playground near their home in Petaling Jaya.

They had just turned into a deserted lane near their house when Sharlinie disappeared and the elder sister, Sharliena, only realised her sister was missing when she looked up from her bicycle.

“Once the alert’s fully implemented, it (the emergency response) will be even better and more comprehensive,” says Chew.

The early alert system is named after Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, who was found dead on Oct 25 last year after she was abducted in August. Her body was found stuffed into a sports bag a month later.

NURIN stands for “Nationwide Urgent Response Information Network ” and it was first proposed by her uncle, Jasni Abdul Jalil, who drafted a proposal with some friends and submitted it to Shahrizat’s ministry late last year.

It was modelled after the United States’ AMBER alert — an emergency response system that galvanises the authority and the community via a comprehensive network to locate missing children.

After receiving the proposal, there have been many rounds of meetings with non-governmental organisations, government agencies and media representatives to get their take.

“It’s part of our administrative procedure before we present something formally to the cabinet. We’ve decided to park the alert system under the Child Protection Policy as one of its components — it’ll be the last module because we’re first looking at more preventive measures,” says Shahrizat.

Once finalised, the alert system would involve several key ministries like Internal Security, Information, Education as well as her own ministry, just to name a few, says Shahrizat.

“Now we’re circulating the policy with the NURIN Alert addition to all the ministries for final inputs.”

The policy will be focusing on making public places safe for children — be it open spaces, at schools or even in the home of the child.

It will also look at the training of officers to be entrusted in implementing the policy.

Sharizat was hoping to have the policy finalised by December but had to postpone it as more and more people wanted to give their views.

But human rights body Suhakam thinks the alert should have been implemented immediately after the Nurin tragedy.

“It’s too slow. I think we tend to react to difficult situations by getting all excited and coming up with beautiful suggestions but after that, there’s no follow-up and things die down,” says Commissioner Dr Chiam Heng Keng.

“It’s like after they found the body, all the excitement died down and they’re not doing anything any more, as if there’s no need to react any more – end of story.”

Chiam believes that if the NURIN Alert had been in place at the time of Sharlinie’s disappearance, the probability of recovering the child would have been much higher.

“Although it’s no guarantee that Sharlinie would be found immediately, the chances would have been much higher.

“We can’t wait for another child to be abducted before they (the authorities) take concrete action.”

Dr Farah Nini Dusuki of the Malaysian Association for the Protection of Children said three or four months were hardly enough time for the government to put such a sophisticated system like the NURIN Alert in place.

“But then again, we are not expecting a perfect system here,” she says.

“I am sure people would be happy just to hear that serious efforts are underway to protect our children.

“When it comes to the issue of child safety, I don’t think any of us can afford to wait any longer.”

The above article is written by TAN CHOE CHOE and AUDREY VIJAINDREN.

Source: NST

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, nurin, nurin alert, sharlinie, children

Information of the suspects, via photofits or CCTV images, can also help the people alert the authorities and bring the perpetrators to justice.

This is so apparent in the ongoing search for five-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar.

But such publicity also gives mischief-makers a field day, resulting in false leads, causing even more pain and anxiety to the family.

There are many strange and sick people out there who spread devious information and are prepared to profit from the misery of others.

More troubling also is that police investigations are often hampered because of our thirst for the latest and most explicit information.

Many are not aware that demanding a blow-by-blow account of ongoing investigations not only strains existing police resources but also enables the perpetrators still at large to plot their next moves.

Let us not be misled by TV series and movies where a crime at the beginning is always solved at the end. In reality, the perceived lack of new information is no indication that investigations have stopped or are not making headway.

Police work must be thorough and every shred of evidence painstakingly gathered so that the real perpetrator is apprehended.

Careless and slipshod work that cannot withstand the rigours of a criminal trial will allow the guilty to go free.

On the other hand, the pressure to show results fast may also lead to the innocent being hauled in, only to be let off a few days later for want of any real connection to the crime.

It is not easy, in high-profile crimes, to walk the thin line that separates the public’s right to know and the police’s duty to carry out a thorough investigation. In the case of Sharlinie, members of the public can help by keeping their eyes and ears open. It is her rescue and safety that is paramount.

If you have a lead that could help the police, show up at the nearest police station and provide the evidence. Calling the parents and the press is not helpful as precious time would be lost if indeed such evidence is solid.

Let us continue to pray and hope for Sharlinie’s safe recovery. But let us also let the police do their job efficiently and quietly.

Source : The Star

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, sharlinie, publicity

Another security guard, 43, who was picked up on Saturday in Chow Kit, was also released on Tuesday.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief SAC II Ku ChinWah said that the release of the suspects does not mean that police have stopped investigating the case.

“We are streamlining our efforts with Selangor police to track down missing five-yearold Sharlinie Mohd Nashar.”

The hunt for the elusive Catman continues after a 32- year-old security guard, who was detained in connection with the brutal rape and murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, was released yesterday.

The man, who was detained on Sunday to help investigations, was released after police found that there was no conclusive evidence to link him to any of the Ops Sunti cases.

Ops Sunti focuses on the molest cases involving three girls in Kampung Baru last year, the abduction of a six-year-old girl from Petaling Jaya last week and the Nurin case.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief SAC II Ku Chin Wah said although investigations proved inconclusive, the guard could still face the rap for narcotic charges.

“He tested positive for dadah,” said Ku, adding that the man had been handed over to the narcotics department for investigations into dadah abuse.

The guard, a father of three, works for a company in the city centre. He was reported to have been working the night shift at the building for a year.

Ku said although the remand order for the suspect expires on Jan 20, he was released as there was no evidence to link him to any of the Ops Sunti cases.

Ku, however, assured that the release of the suspect does not mean that police have stopped investigating the case. “We are streamlining our efforts with Selangor police to track down missing five-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar,” said Ku.

He said they are pooling resources to find Sharlinie. “We are using our resources in all the police departments. We have also sought help from the Civil Defence unit.”

Ku, however, declined to disclose the methods used in their search for Sharlinie “There are things that we cannot reveal and this is one of them. All we can say is that we are doing our best to find her,” said Ku.

The security guard was arrested at an abandoned building in Jalan Tun Razak on Sunday and had been investigated under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape.

He was picked up following a tip-off that he resembled the photofit of the Catman, who is wanted in connection with the abduction and molest of several girls.

He also owns a black motorcycle similar to the one used by the Catman when luring his victims.

Another security guard, aged 43, who was picked up on Saturday in Chow Kit, was also released on Tuesday.

Federal CID acting director Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani confirmed the release.

Source : Malay Mail

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, sharlinie, suspect

Both Siti Hawa Awang, 56, and Yuslan Yusof, 46, said the man rode into the residential area on a motorcycle with another man and they saw him at the park from where Sharlinie went missing in the morning.

Drink stall owner Siti Hawa said she saw the men in the afternoon.

“One of the men got off the motorcycle as if to look for someone. Later, the men rode off. I thought nothing of it until I saw the photofit in the papers the next day, which resembled the motorcyclist,” said Siti Hawa.

Yuslan Yusof, 46, also had a similar account of how the two strangers had ridden towards the park and stopped briefly.

Yuslan was sitting at one of the stalls by the park between noon and 2pm when the men showed up. But he claimed it was the pillion rider who resembled the face on the photofit.

“The men came to look for someone staying here. Later, they left. I saw them on the day Sharlinie went missing.

“When I read the papers on Thursday and saw the photofit, I was shocked,” said Yuslan.

Source : The Star

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, sharlinie, suspect, catman

Several residents in Taman Medan have chipped in to help find five-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar by printing 1,000 posters to be distributed in the area. There will be putting the posters up around the PJS area as well as at petrol stations and mosques.

Suria FM has also joined in the efforts to locate missing five-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar. Chief executive officer Engku Emran Engku Zainal Abidin said the Bahasa Malaysia radio station would give hourly updates on the little girl.

“Everyone should take part in the search to help the police. We hope Suria FM listeners will help to look for the girl. We will continue to make the hourly announcement until she is found,” according to Engku Emran Engku Zainal Abidin.

Those with information on Sharlinie’s whereabouts could contact her father Mohd Nashar Mat Hussain at 016-258 3450 / 016-270 9096 or call the Petaling Jaya Police Station at 03-7966 2222 or Rakan Cop at 03-2115 9999.

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, shaz, sharlinie, missing