Poverty no reason to sell your kids, minister tells parents

Parents from low-income families should not resort to “selling their children” through underage marriages as a purported means to secure a better future, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said today.

According to Zuraida, such parents should instead approach the relevant government agencies to seek assistance for their children.

“If the family is poor, I hope that the parents will not ‘sell’ their children in this manner.

“Go and seek the agencies that can help to put their children through school or offer other forms of assistance,” she said during a press conference in Kuala Langat after attending the Selangor government’s Institut Wanita Berdaya (IWB) public briefing on prevention of child sexual abuse.

“And to the men who want to 'take' these young girls, I would like to suggest to them, if they are truly sincere and want to show their compassion, make donations so that these children can grow up the right way.

“Don’t do it by marrying them. That is not the right way. It is a way that will not bring any positive impact to the children in the future,” the Wanita Harapan chief stressed.

Referring to the controversial marriage between an 11-year-old girl and a 41-year-old Kelantanese man, Zuraida said the case would likely have involved elements of sexual grooming – based on reports indicating that the couple had been in contact since the bride was only seven years old.

Zuraida had previously been appointed to lead the IWB setup during Mohamed Azmin Ali’s tenure as Selangor menteri besar.

She said the women’s empowerment institute had planned 16 public briefings statewide, and today’s session by an expert in the prevention of child sexual abuse was the ninth instalment in the series.

“I hope that through this programme, all parties can act as agents to relay information on the importance of the prevention of child sexual abuse cases,” she added.

Among others, Zuraida said the briefing aimed to educate community leaders, parents and teachers on how to identify signs of children who had been sexually harassed and abused or subjected to sexual grooming. -Mkini