Missing Kids Alert System Should Be Better, Says MP After Local Residents Still Unaware Of Missing Kuching Child
The case of the missing boy was not quite widespread even to the local residents, hence, the NUR Alert system needs to be improved.
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Recently, Malaysia has been served with breaking news of a missing four-year-old boy named Eric Chang Wei Jie in Bintawa, Kuching, Sarawak. The boy was noticed to be missing around 9 am on 7 March from their house at Taman Riverview, Bintawa. A police report was filed on the same day by his family around 7.42 pm. A NUR (National Urgent Response) Alert was given out by the police to notify the public about the kid’s disappearance.
However, Kuching MP, Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen, suggested that the NUR alert system should be upgraded urgently according to recent technology.
He expressed his opinions in a tweet saying that we should be receiving more NUR Alerts rather than unnecessary SMS spam from MKN.
Why Should It Be Upgraded?
Kelvin Yii found out that the alert and awareness of the missing child is not widespread, even among the residents of the area.
He further stated that currently, the accessibility of this NUR Alert is very limited as he himself had double-checked with multiple people that live around in the Bintawa area and found out that they themselves have not received any alerts regarding the Eric case.
The NUR alerts need to be in a text message form, sent to us via our phones, like how MKN spams are. This is to ensure a wider public target is reached to increase the chances of the child being saved.
Such alert is also important to inform the public to keep a good lookout and this is the best weapon to limit movements of alleged abductors and even deter anyone from planning any abductions.
Kelvin Yii
What Is A NUR Alert?
A NUR Alert is a system to notify the public of missing children aged 12 and below so that swift action can be taken to locate missing children. Before this, the NUR Alert was dubbed as NURIN (Nationwide Urgent Response Information Network) Alert, named after the child murder victim, Nurin Jazlin Jazimin.
The NUR alert was proposed to be on the public’s SMS and MMS before, but it required the person to accept or decline the permission of such alerts being sent on their phones. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that cellular users must first choose to accept the NUR Alerts before those kinds of announcements can be sent.
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. Instead we receive all kinds of unnecessary SMS from MKN and even SMS promoting Keluarga Malaysia events on without consent.
Kelvin Yii
When it comes to saving children’s lives, they create barriers, but when it comes to government propaganda and unnecessary SMS, they send anyways without our consent.
(Credit: @amirimran99, @MrsLily / Twitter)
This Information Should Not Only Be Accessed By Different Enforcement Agencies
The MP said that a single platform should exist and be accessed directly not just by different enforcement agencies but also by shopping malls, banks, elected representatives’ offices, cinemas, members of the public and more.
This is because, for example, malls can show the announcements on their notice boards and banks can show them on the ATM screens like a pop-up ad before the public can withdraw their money.
All obstacles like consent procedures should be removed in these types of emergencies so that the public can be aware of the announcements fast. He believes that the public will understand and be supportive to receive news alerts such as these to save a child’s life rather than receiving all kinds of unnecessary spam and government propaganda.
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.
Kelvin Yii
We hope for the best and pray for safe return of little Eric
Updates On The Eric Case
In a recent update reported by The Borneo Post, 4 individuals were arrested by the Kuching Police to assist the investigation of the disappearance of Eric Chang Wei Jie.
“Two males and two females aged 24 to 49 were tested positive for drugs (syabu) and had prior criminal records,” said Kuching Police Chief ACP Ashmon Bajah.
The police have formed a special task force to find Eric.
To this date, the little boy is still missing and he was last seen in a dark blue round neck t-shirt with black knee-length shorts. If any of you have information on the little boy, do contact Insp Hasmah Binti Abdul Jalil @ 013-6852210 or IPD Kuching, Sarawak @ 08-2244444.
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