SHAH ALAM, Oct 19 — The state government is considering expanding the roles of the Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK), neighbourhood watch groups (Rukun Tetangga), and residents associations to help identify early signs of child abuse and sexual exploitation.
State executive councillor for women empowerment and social welfare Anfaal Saari said these community networks can serve as “eyes and ears” to raise awareness and help the public channel reports to the authorities.
While the proposal is still in its early stages, it warrants serious attention given the growing concerns regarding cases of child sexual exploitation, including the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
"Given the gravity of reports concerning CSAM, I believe we should expand the scope of responsibilities for JPKK, Rukun Tetangga, and residents' associations.
“Our security threats are no longer confined physically; they now exist in the virtual realm,” she said during a recent interview on the ‘Bicara Semasa’ programme, titled “Predators Behind the Screen”, aired on Media Selangor.
Anfaal suggested that community premises or activity centres currently used for meetings, security patrols, and social programmes could broaden the roles of these community networks.
Reports regarding child safety could also be channelled through these community networks, provided that such a mechanism is established.
She highlighted the need to expand training courses and awareness sessions to improve public understanding of the threats present in the digital space.
This approach could help address underreporting, as many victims and their families remain unaware of the proper channels for lodging complaints.
“If we can engage more people who are well-informed about this issue, they could reach out to community members who might otherwise not know where to turn to report such matters.
”In my view, this is about acting as 'eyes and ears' and creating a space to diversify our reporting channels,' Anfaal said.
The councillor emphasised the importance of strengthening existing reporting channels, such as the Talian Kasih 15999 hotline and the channels provided by the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
She cautioned that introducing too many separate complaint hotlines could confuse the public and make it difficult to know which channel to contact.
“Adding yet another hotline would only lead to confusion. Instead, we should focus on strengthening the existing ones so that everyone knows exactly which number to call to lodge a report,” Anfaal said.
Similarly, it is important to teach children to be courageous enough to report any behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable, especially when it involves someone they know or trust.
“What is saddening is that most of these sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by people who are trusted, people who are known to the victim, even their own family members,” she said.
During the Selangor State Legislative Assembly session on August 4, Anfaal revealed that 3,747 sexual crime cases involving children had been recorded in the state between 2021 and 2025.
Of that total, rape cases accounted for the highest number at 1,845 incidents, followed by 1,654 cases of physical sexual abuse.
Since 2021, cases of physical sexual abuse have risen by 70 per cent, while the increase in the number of reports is also attributed to growing public awareness, which has encouraged more people to come forward and lodge complaints.
