I HAVE no doubt that the au thorities will leave no stone unturned in their investiga tions into the abduction of Sharlinie Mohd Nashar last Wednesday.

I will not pretend to under stand the anguish and suffer ing of the five-year-old girl’s parents.

Only they would know what it feels like to have their daughter snatched away. My thoughts are with them.

But if there is any good to come out of Sharlinie’s kidnap ping, it is that it has jolted us into the realisation that we should never take the safety of our young ones for granted.

Not even if they are playing outside the house gate. Or if they are waiting for us to fetch them from school and we are a few minutes late.

The onus is on parents to make sure that they keep an eye on their children or have someone they trust look after them.

Having said this, I under stand that it is nearly impossible for parents to monitor the activities or whereabouts of their children 24 hours a day, every day.

In any case, it may do little good to our children’s growth process and mental develop ment if they get the message that we are looking over their shoulder all the time.

In this respect, it is heartening to note that Sharlinie’s parents, Mohd Nashar Mat Hussin and Suraya Ahmad, have not become the subject of ridicule by insensitive parties over the disappearance of their daughter.

Instead, everyone who has spoken out has been sympath etic of their ordeal and prays for the girl’s wellbeing and re union with her family.

In contrast, I remember some time ago how a couple who were in the same predic ament as Sharlinie’s parents were accused of negligence by certain quarters with ho lier-than-thou attitudes.

Quite a few called for the parents of missing children to be prosecuted in court. As if the sorrow of losing a child was not punishment enough.

Blaming the parents is not going to help in the concen trated efforts to nab the real criminals — the kidnappers.

But if we can get every mem ber of society to share the responsibility of taking care of our innocent children, then we would be making a giant leap towards creating a safer en vironment for future generations.

We can all start by getting to know our neighbours and res idents in the neighbourhood better.

Sharif Haron
News editor

Source: Malay Mail – January 15, 2008