Ong’s service centre, in collaboration with non-governmental organisation Yayasan Bakti Nusa Malaysia, safety activist Captain K. Balasupramaniam and between eight to ten other NGOs, are preparing to place some 10 baby cots in his Pandan constituency and other parts of the Klang Valley by the end of the month.
“This is fire-fighting. Our objective is to protect the abandoned babies’ lives,” Ong told reporters today.
Baby dumping has become a hot topic with newspapers highlighting new cases almost every day.
The police said that 13 out of 65 cases involving the dumping of newborns have resulted in prosecutions.
A total of 67 cases were recorded in 2005, 83 in 2006, 76 in 2007, 102 in 2008 and 79 in 2009.
NGO OrphanCARE created the first baby hatch in the country in May this year. This is where parents can drop their unwanted babies anonymously. The babies will then be put up for adoption later.
Unlike the baby hatch, however, Ong said that his baby cots, which would be located at the premises of NGOs, were merely a place for women to place their unwanted babies.
Once a baby is dropped in a cot, the NGO concerned would alert Ong’s service centre in Pandan Jaya, and they would then contact the police and the welfare department.
“We bear in mind that it is urgent to save lives,” said Ong, adding that he was not encouraging baby dumping through this initiative.
The former transport minister stressed instead that his priority was to save the lives of abandoned babies, many of whom were found dead in rubbish bins or bitten to death by animals and insects.
“We are not here to tackle the root cause. People will split hairs on the causes of such social ills. But our objective is to protect the children,” he said, pointing out that sex education was a long-term solution to the baby abandoning problem.
Ong said that the baby cot initiative would be administered through a social development committee called the Mayang committee which he was heading, comprising 15 community leaders.
“The coalition of NGOs will be coordinated by Captain Balasupramaniam,” said Ong, adding that the baby cot programme was endorsed by Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie.
Balasupramaniam said that the cots would most likely be made of wood and designed with an umbrella-like shade to keep out crows and protect the child from the blistering heat.
“We are asking NGOs to come forward to place this cot at their premises where people can leave their babies and go,” said the safety activist.
Ong said that he would reveal the coalition of NGOs housing the baby cots in due time, adding that they were starting with the “small” NGOs first.
