What is sex education? This is a typical response when I ask school administrators whether sex ed is being taught in their respective public secondary schools. I am referred to the school counsellor when I mention consent, body image, relationships, and STDs.
– Anonymous
I can’t help but feel emotional when I came across a news report about a newborn girl found abandoned by a dumpster in Batu Kawa in Kuching on Saturday. Garbagemen clearing rubbish from the movable waste container found the baby in a cardboard box with her umbilical cord still attached.
This is Sarawak’s second baby dumping incident this year. The poor baby can count herself lucky that the waste collectors found her first as the area is known to have a stray population; I dread to think what would have happened if the stray dogs had arrived first.
Baby dumping cases are widespread in this country. According to statistics as of 2021 – though there have been attempts by certain quarters to suppress information – it’s shocking to know that a conservative average of 100 babies are abandoned every year in Malaysia.
Let’s take a look at some of the past newspaper headings about abandoned babies in the country.
Baby dumped in toilet (Borneo Post, Jan 21, 2015). A dead baby was discovered in the toilet bowl in a university block in Bintulu.
Teen finds newborn infant dumped in storeroom (Borneo Post, Dec 5, 2017). Residents in Kampung Bahagia Jaya in Sibu had a shock to find a newborn boy in the storeroom of a house.
Teen couple nabbed over baby dumping incident in Melaka (Malay Mail, March 31, 2021). An 18-year-old teenage couple has been arrested to facilitate investigations into a baby dumping case that resulted in his death, near the Telok Mas factory area.
Body of abandoned baby girl found in Johor Bahru drain (Borneo Bulletin, Dec 13, 2022). The body of a newborn baby girl was found dumped inside a drain at Kampung Melayu Pandan.
Third baby dumped in Sabah in 4 days (The Straits Times, June 15, 2023). Another baby-dumping case has been reported in Sabah, this time in the south-western Papar district.
A newborn baby abandoned under a tree (Sinar Daily, May 2023). A woman was shocked when her neighbour found a newborn baby boy, with his umbilical cord cut, abandoned on top of a wooden board under a tree near her home in Kampung Peramu Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan.
The above are but some of the baby dump incidents in our country. It’s very difficult to determine if the figures are actually dropping because there could be many cases that might have gone unreported.
According to available figures, police received 424 cases of babies dumped nationwide from 2018 till September 2021, averaging nine a month. Sadly, 283 of the cases involved babies who were found dead.
And out of the 424 cases, 285 involved babies who were dumped right after being born, and the remaining 139 cases were foetuses.
Bukit Aman’s Sexual, Women, and Children Crime Investigation Division (D11) principal assistant director Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan, painted an even grimmer picture when she revealed that “most of the cases of baby dumping happened in residential areas, with 166 reported cases, followed by the mosque, on the sides of buildings and in brushes.”
“What’s even sadder, sometimes we find them in toilets, drains, garbage disposals, even in the graveyard,” she said.
The majority of the babies were dumped in rubbish bins – with 70 per cent found lifeless – because they were stuffed into toilets after attempts to flush them down, dumped into the drain, or burned beyond recognition.
The percentage of these babies who are fortunate enough to have a chance to survive is only 30 per cent.
In October 2018, Hannah Yeoh – the then deputy women, family and community development minister – released figures for a period of 10 years from 2008-2018 where 1,075 cases of baby-dumping cases were reported nationwide.
Out of the 1,075 cases, Selangor reported 254 cases followed by Sabah (141), Johor (127), Kuala Lumpur (83), Sarawak (71), Perak (66), Kedah (64), Penang (61), Negeri Sembilan (56), Pahang (50), Kelantan (43), Terengganu (26), Melaka (20), and Perlis (13).
Why is this crime increasing, considering that the relevant authorities have gone to great lengths to make moral and religious education part and parcel of our daily lives?
While moral and religious education play an important role when it comes to tackling the issue of baby dumping, leaders need to honestly acknowledge the reasons behind the issue and come up with pragmatic solutions before the problem becomes endemic.
Of course unplanned pregnancy is one of the prime issues arising from unsafe and unprotected sex.
Unsafe sex and unplanned pregnancy result from lack of sexual education and knowledge.
Sex education should no longer be shunned. Unlike during our time, when we were taught that sex is a no-no before marriage, youth nowadays tend to experience sex even at 14 or 15 years old. Yes, worrying, isn’t it!
Readily available pornographic materials on the internet are to blame for the ‘adventurous’ behaviour of the teens.
Another leading cause of baby dumping is the strong stigma attached to unmarried mothers, causing teenage mothers, in particular, to dump their babies because of shame and fear.
To make things worse, the ‘lost teenagers’ lack emotional support from their families.
So, what should be done? I say introduce some form of early sex education in schools. No doubt there will be opposition from some holier-than-thou fellas but it is up to our lawmakers to tackle them, though I am not sure how as some of them appear impotent and are not firm.
Baby hatches are part of the solution and some hospitals in the country have the facility to provide a safe place for mothers who want to leave their babies without revealing their identities. But not all hospitals or medical centres appear supportive of the hatches.
Another measure could be to organise nationwide baby-dumping prevention campaigns to educate teens and young single mothers.
Finally, I believe parents themselves should play a crucial role. They have to be proactive and be aware of the sexual activities among teenagers. About time, they are approachable and be open when it comes to sex and intimacy – though sex is a taboo among some communities.
Parents should realise that sex education starts at home and from young, and give equal emphasis to both genders.
One important measure is for parents to know their children’s circle of contacts and friends to ensure they don’t mix with the wrong company. And monitor their online activities and constantly advise them to steer clear of porn sites.
A close colleague of mine has this to say: “If you think you don’t have the time and ability to be good parents, and that work and money are more important, then don’t make babies!”
Guess he is right. As it is now, parents are heavily dependent on the teachers to take care of children’s education. And are we now going to depend on the poor teachers to ensure our teens don’t get pregnant to dump their babies later?
Baby dumping is a crime; act now before it turns endemic, or are we already too late!
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
