Education and counseling to handle prevalence of abandoning babies

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali expressed sadness today over the recent incident of a newborn baby thrown from a third floor apartment recently, and suggested emphasis on creating awareness, religious education and counseling to handle such problems.

The wife of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, when social ills such as teenage pregnancies reared its head, it would lead to the prevalence of babies being abandoned.

"It's very sad that an innocent baby was thrown away just like that,” she told reporters after launching the "Petronas Know Our Children" programme, organised by Petronas and drug treatment and rehabilitation non-governmental organisation Pengasih Malaysia, here today.

"We're not animals who don't love our children. Every child must be a wanted child, from both husband and wife, father and mother. Not an unwanted child," she said.

She was commenting on last Sunday's incident, where a fully formed baby girl with her umbilical cord still attached was tossed down to the car park, from the third floor of the Desa Mentari Apartment in Petaling Jaya near here.

Dr Siti Hasmah, who is the patron of the "Petronas Know Our Children" programme, which aims to equip parents with skills and information to prevent drug abuse among children, said," Awareness and prevention is very important to prevent drug abuse among young people, and the most important thing is the involvement of parents.

"They should know their roles in preventing substance abuse and with the new environment, working mothers need advise on time management so they can be with their children.

"I still feel that children can be taught to refrain from drug abuse if they are taught while still young, at home or in school," she said.

Meanwhile, Pengasih president, Datuk Mohd Yunus Pathi Mohd said they have treated 5,422 drug addicts for the past 22 years and carried out community services in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of drug abuse. Bernama

Education and counseling to handle prevalence of abandoning babies

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali expressed sadness today over the recent incident of a newborn baby thrown from a third floor apartment recently, and suggested emphasis on creating awareness, religious education and counseling to handle such problems.

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