KUCHING: It is very important for parents to know their children whereabouts as to prevent any unwanted incident from happening.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak advisor Datuk Seri Hafsah Harun said this in response to the 47 Malaysians being detained in Banteay Meanchey Prison, Cambodia on Dec 11 last year.
“Yes, parents can be lenient with their children, but there must be a limit too,” she stressed, yesterday.
She said parents must really make sure where are their children going before letting them go abroard.
“We cannot simply just trust people like that. Sometimes these scammers are very good in trapping these youths into believing there is big salary to offer,” she pointed out.
Pointing out her concern during a press conference held at one of the victims’ house at Jalan Duranta here, Hafsah said that is why it is very important to have a black and white document in hand before accepting any job offer at both local and international level.
“Those who have a job offer overseas especially, are advised to report it to the Labour Department, get the proper documentation, find out more about the company first before going abroad,” she stressed yesterday.
Five family members of other detainees were also present at the press conference yesterday.
Jurep Baem, the mother of Ahasius Peter, 26, said so far she has no update on her third son, and hoped the Malaysian government could bring her son and the rest home as soon as possible.
Ahasius’ eldest brother Shamius Peter, who was also there, told reporters Wisma Putra called him on Jan 29 to inform him that his brother was detained in Cambodia.
“We are all very worried about him and his cousin, Margerat Muna Anyut, because both of them have never been to Cambodia,” he said.
Ahasius, who worked as a mechanic before, was attracted by the job offer with high pay hoping he could better support his family.
“We did stop him, but he insisted to go. When we asked him what kind of job that would offer such a high pay, he told us just a normal job, so we didn’t ask him further after that.”
Also, a worried mother Marsita Mohamad hoped her 25-year old daughter Nur Ridwana Syahzani Hamddie is safe and will be released back to Malaysia soon.
“I am very sad because she told me that she was just going to Kuala Lumpur to work, but she didn’t tell me she was going to Cambodia.
“I think she was afraid to tell me because I didn’t allow her to go to Kuala Lumpur in the first place,” she said.
Marsita said her fourth daughter went to Kuala Lumpur in October and they last contacted each other in November, as most of the time she would only communicate with her sister.
“At first I cannot believe she was being detained. I pray for her safety, and I hope this will serve as a lesson for her to not repeat the same mistake; I hope she will listen to me after this.”
