Friday, October 19, 2007

Citizens For Nurin Alert

Early this morning, my sister Nina sent me an SMS, saying that my name was mentioned on page 14 of the Star in a story quoting Nurin Jazlin's uncle, Jasni AJ who spoke about plans to introduce Nurin Alert.

That's good, I thought. Good that Nurin Alert is featured in the Star.

For those not yet in the know, this blog has been promoting and advocating the introduction of Nurin Alert , inspired by the successful American programme, AMBER Alert, an emergency response plan that brings the authorities and the community together in search for abducted children in the shortest possible time after they go missing.

It has helped saved the lives of hundreds of young children since it was put in place in the US 11 years ago.
Other countries in Europe as well as Britain and Australia have already developed and introduced a similar plan and system.

Read the Star story quoting Jasni here.

Also read Rocky's Bru on the Nationwide Urgent Response Information Network Alert.

Jasni started nurinjazlin.blogspot.com after his niece went missing. Over a short period of time, he linked with like-minded bloggers who felt the need for "something" to be done to save the next Nurin.
We fear that the next child who goes missing may not be saved.

I posted about AMBER Alert after another blogger, Farina of Princessjournals, posted a comment in my blog (about Nurin Jazlin), suggesting that we should have a similar system in place.
Farina is married and lives in Orange, California.

I took it from there because I really felt that it was unacceptable that Nurin remained missing for 28 days before her brutalized body was found stuffed in a sports bag.
How could we have failed her?
Clearly, there was something wrong with the system or that the system we have now is flawed.
What will happen to the next missing child, I shivered, just wondering about it.
Yes, undoubtedly, we have all failed Nurin -- you and I, as a community. And the police.
I'm sorry, I cannot let go of the fact that the police did very little during the crucial time to search for Nurin.
Why was there no sense of urgency until it was way too late?
Was it because Nurin was a taxidriver's child?
I'd hate to think so. I'd hate to think that there is some selective process in routine police work and assistance.
Perhaps, it's better for all of us to just put it down to police ineptitude. And also, the notoriously pervasive Malaysian tidak-apa attitude.

If there was anyone to be blamed -- then it is all of us.

All this blogging about Nurin Alert did not come to nothing. Fellow blogger, Tembam who happens to be a former colleague of mine at the NST, caught on and she went so fast and furious in her blog about Nurin Alert.
I recommend that you read Tembam. Everything you need to know about AMBER Alert and missing children and so forth is there.

Another blogger Nik Farez got into the picture and got connected with Tembam, Jasni and I.
Jasni suggested we meet, and we did two weeks ago and we formed Citizens For Nurin Alert.

The following day, at a roundtable hosted by Tell Magazine, to discuss Nurin and measures to address the issue of missing children, Women, Family and Community Development Minister and Jasni were among five invited guests.
Jasni raised the issue of Nurin Alert and in no uncertain terms, explained why we need it.
His brother, Jazimin, faced obstacles just to get help to look for his child.
Shahrizat was moved.

Shahrizat's ministry is coming out with the Child Protection Policy. A proposal for Nurin Alert to be introduced will be incorporated.

Meanwhile, Citizens For Nurin Alert is gaining incredible support from a cross section of society. From Malaysians.

Indeed, if Nurin had undergone unimaginably excruciating pain at the hands of her tormentors and perpetrators before her life was snuffed out of her....she did not die in vain.
She did not.
Dearest Nurin, we know you are resting well now. Your memory lives in us all...

25 comments:

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

yeaa, read that too, and credits to farina as well. whats important now is that Nurin Alert is making its way to the mainstream media and should serve as an eye-opener and hopefully the powers-that-be would give it some due consideration.

Rockybru said...

Ena,
Thanks for not knowing when to stop pushing for the Nurin Alert idea. my hats off to Jasni, Nik Farez and you.

I am glad that we now have Kamal Hashim on board to help guide us. He has the experience and the cool head to help ensure that Nurin Alert happens.

Nik Farez has been in contact with people from all walks of life to show support for the initiative.

I hope some politicians don't try to be funny just because Farina, Tembam, Nik, Jasni, Kamal and you happen to be bloggers.

Kak Teh said...

Well done concerned citizens!! We will make sure that Nurin is not forgotten.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

kerp,

there's no way to go but forward. how can Nurin Alert be wrong or bad?
child abduction is a crime. in the best of communities, children do go missing. we try as best to make this environment safe -- the police will keep the streets safe and the community will also have a role in this. but when every precaution has been taken, and a child goes missing and in the hands of sinister, evil and sick people, what do we do?

thanks, kerp, for visiting.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

ahirudin (rocky),

i think there was no option for us. we can't be rendered helpless by what happened to nurin. on the contrary, it has fired us to do something for the next kid.
it could be yours or mine.
i think with nurin alert, a great load will be taken off the police because the community will help.

well, if they (politicians) are not being funny, then they'll probably try and hijack the idea.

and, of course there'll be some who will take advantage of the whole thing. you know how it is with some malaysian politicians. they'll use anything to enrich themselves.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

kak teh (Ah),

Yay! we will!

Pi Bani said...

Way to go! I have been wondering why none of the mainstream media were bothered to feature Amber/Nurin Alert. Good to know it's finally mentioned in the Star. I hope this will be the start to better things ahead.

Elly said...

let's pray that Nurin Alert will materialise real soon!

Salt N Turmeric said...

finally! we all have been waiting for mths for the neswpaper to mention abt nurin alert. page 4 pun oklah. i guess the news abt the stolen handphone is more important than the children's safety.
bravo to u Nuraina, Tembam, Rocky and other bloggers who met up w Shahrizat. *clap-clap*

Anonymous said...

Nurin Alert is the best news I hear so far after all the arrests made by the Police led to nothing. A big fat ZERO. It's up to the citizens now to do something to protect their children.

A Voice said...

Hidup blogger!

Who was it that called bloggers pondan, goblok, monyet, berok, unemployed, women, housewife, and what not?

The calls on you ... bongok!!!

UmmikuSayang said...

Salam sis Nuraina,

I read about Nurin Alert in the newspaper yesterday. I am Lily from UmmikuSayang.com. We run an on-line website selling Islamic products for mothers and children. We also have an e-community of mothers with over 3000 members nationwide.

We are planning a talk for parents on the 24th November. We would like to invite someone from the Nurin Alert committee to share with the parents on what it is about and how we can participate in it.

Kindly email me at lily@ummikusayang.com so we can discuss further.

May Allah bless you for your efforts.

Anonymous said...

This is good. This is good as it shows that the people are not merely waiting for the authority to do something. The people themselves are doing something.

Bravo, Farina for the spark of an idea; Nuraina. for lighting up the fire.

It's good that blogosphere is being used for this.

The challenge is just around the corner. Make sure your effort doesn't suffer Nurin's fate - there will always be people (not just politicians) who would think nothing of abducting the initiative for personal gains.

Yours throughly.

Anonymous said...

Sis Ena
Prior to this post, when there was apparently a lack of progress on the NURIN’s initiative and nailing the beast(s), I almost wanted to say “These are clear signs of atrophy”. I am now bullish that you and your strong team will deliver on this one. Many people are rooting for the team of bloggers to make this an unqualified success.

I cannot help wondering how the Singapore government would seize the moment and react to the call for the establishment of NURIN if they were in our shoes. The reason I mention this is because over last few days I had experienced first hand the so-called Singapore Culture, and was rejoicing “What a breath of fresh air!” OnThursday, I sent an email to the Business Development Director of a global “service provider” based in Singapore, asking for certain clarifications. Shortly I got an acknowledgement from him assuring me that the team is now looking at my concerns. In their eyes, all customers are equal and their concerns must be addressed promptly and satisfactorily. Over the next few hours, I received partial clarifications from the Client Services Executive and the Client Services Team Manager. They have not addressed all my concerns yet, but I expect to get the full clarifications by Monday.

Contrast this with what I experienced slightly more than a year ago. I sent email to a former classmate who’s the CEO of a blue chip company listed on Bursa Malaysia. No acknowledgment, nothing, cause I am just a plain customer. I am not surprised to read in another respectable blog that the company has to write off millions of unprofitable investments in a neighbouring country.

aMiR

Anonymous said...

Dear Ena,

Congratulations to you, Jasni, Farina, Tembam, Kamal, Nik Farez and others in the Nurin Alert action group. You've finally got the ears of the government. That's truly something.

This progress lifts the spirit a bit after what now seems like inactivity in the hunt for little Nurin Jaslin's heartless murderer.

I hope and pray that the police silence is actually part of their investigative strategy and not because they are stumped.

Unknown said...

KakEna..Am sohappy to see your names appearing in the Star to make sure that NURIN ALERT exist in this country...Way to go sis and let it be known...am always behind you to support this noble effort.

We surely don't just talk the coffee talk..we walk the talk! Yeah!

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

pi bani: we hope so too....we pray that this is the start..

elly: we will...insyallah

farina: we have you to thank!

rox: yes. there's no way but ahead.

a voice: well.now they know!

lily: we will email you. thanks.

yours throughly: thanks... it seems the only logical and pratical thing to do after what happened to nurin.

aMiR: i know.. sometimes, i wonder whether we know what we want? and how to do what we have to do to stay get ahead.
thanks for visiting. and for reminding me to update.

Mekyam: thanks.... it's good to know that we are not alone.

.. said...

Dear Nuraina
I am glad that Nurin Alert is in the making and this is just the beginning. Though it may not be easy but it can definitely be done, and that's why the public-like us, need to push for NurinAlert.

When we read on the papers about the past rape and murder of children, we will all note that most of the murderers got scot free. Sad to say whenever there is a tragedy, there's lots of hoo-ha over who is responsible and we see remarks coming from top to bottom,vice versa and always promising investigation, we will change this and that, and at the end, its just empty talk. Therefore, I am not surprised if Nurin ends up as another statistic.

There are many very concerned parent out there after the Nurin incident. I never let my children out of my sight, nowhere seems to be safe. We cannot avoid future kidnapping or murder, but we sure can prevent them through Nurin Alert and faster & efficient police actions. I still feel strongly that while we, Malaysians, are proud of having sent a fellow citizen to space, but back to Malaysian earth, it's worst than 30 years ago in terms of safety. Back then, children roamed around freely and crime rate was much lower. Now, we are amore sophisticated and IT savvy nation, but the basic safety net is not there.

When we read about the Tioman ferry tragedy, I told myself, it's going to be back to square one until the next accident. I am doubtful over if anything is going to change and for all we know, the very owners will start operating in a couple of months, just like Nurin's murderer will start his actions when the dust has settled.

Let's be united and push for Nurin Alert and not stop only on that. We can move on to help create a safer environment for our children. We can push to SOP on shopping complexes on what to do when a child goes missing. We can educate children at school about safety aspects, not going off with strangers, scream and bite their kidnappers etc. Educating the children allows them to be aware of their surroundings and be more alert with strangers.

I believe Nurin Alert is a wonderful platform for many good things to come, otherwise, we should really be ashamed of ourselves as Malaysians. While we thrives on being the best, fastest, canggih-est, highest, to space etc., what good is all these if we rob our children on their future?

No matter what, the Police a duty to protect its citizen in every way. If they cannot solve Nurin's case, how can we rely on them? We certainly can forget about relying on them for future prevention.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

dalilah (raden G): i am glad that it has got at least this far. am hopeful this will be a reality.
insyallah!
thanks for the encouragement and support.

MaryKate: I see your blog is dedicated to Nurin. That is really inspiring. I am optimistic that there are many people like you who are intent on keeping our streets and neighbourhoods safe for our children...
you have my support too! thank you!

Anonymous said...

When NURIN ALERT takes off on national radio and television it will be a truly collaborative effort between private citizens, the police and other relevant agencies and government Ministries.

It will represent the efforts of a truly civil society - with a caring citizenry, caring agencies and authorities and a caring government.

To me it represents the maturing of a society that is shedding off its arificial/superficial knee jerking veneers and finally responding to issues with much care and thought.

There are so many tested (international)models out there and we should adopt/adapt those that are relevant to our needs.

If we can invite a veteran/professional American astronaut to speak to and for us in our space efforts, I don't see why we can't invite an experienced member of the AMBER ALERT scheme in the US or elsewhere to help us establish a working system here.

Better this than to allow local amateurs to fumble and falter and set up a faulty system which will invite the infamous Malaysian blame game all over again!

Do you know how the NURIN ALERT is being set up Nuraina? For instance what does the working paper recommend?

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

OFF: yes...indeed, it will be all that and more.

I cannot tell you how it is going to be set up.
I can only tell you how Nurin Alert works.

Certainly it needs collaboration betweeen the police as an eforcement agency, broadcasting and print media and the community with added help from corporations (perhaps to sponsor displaying of information on billboards).

Even in the US, each locale or state has its own adaptation of the programme.

it is not an elaborate program. in fact it is a system thaty borrows from a very old but very tested one -- announcing of weather conditions. it works on the same premise.

we are hi-tech now,. so you can imagine how effective the program/system is in helping to save kids after they go missing in the shortest possible time.

Anonymous said...

Dear Kak Ena,

Thanks to you and so many others, I'm confident that Malaysia will be a better place for our children. Keep it up - it being holding on to an issue and no letting go...

zaitgha said...

i watched you on TV3 just now, check this out http://zaitgha-dayindayout.blogspot.com/2007/10/nurin-alert-on-tv3.html , and on the lighter note, i think i got the best profile of you ....

Btw, well done and will do what i can to assist...

Anonymous said...

I read in the papers this morning about a missing girl similar to the Nurin case. Her name is Rekha Abdullah, 10 years ole in Georgetown, Penang. Please implement the Nurin Alert system immediately. We certainly do not want her to end up like Nurin. Please.

Pi Bani said...

ALERT: Another girl went missing in Penang. Another case of failing to return from pasar malam.