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Thursday, December 04, 2008, 02.03 PM

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EDITORIAL: Taken for a ride

Nevertheless, as essential and indispensable as the probe may be, it is to be wondered whether a "task force" is what is required when all that seems to be needed is a straightforward police investigation into what is a criminal matter. This is not to say that women's NGOs should not be involved; in cases of sexual abuse they have a crucial role in providing emotional and other support to the victims. Neither can there be objections to bringing the state's Penan Affairs Committee, Suhakam, health or education officials into the picture. This is just to say that it should have been a police case requiring prompt attention by the nearest police station instead of the officious reply that no action could be taken unless an official report had been lodged.

Be that as it may, now that a task force has been duly assembled, its proper remit should indeed be to look into the "root cause of the problem", as the minister has intimated -- and suggest solutions -- rather than delve into the issues of evidentiary proof and culpability. However, as well-intentioned and necessary as this may be, such a task could be beyond its reach. For one thing, with boarding school a few days' walk from the nearest village and with little access to other means of communication, it is difficult to see what the task force can do to replace the logging roads and rides.