The e-hailing service Grab has just launched a #SaferEveryday campaign in partnership with the Sexual, Women and Child Investigation (D11) Division of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to help create a safer environment for children.
Through this collaboration, over 300,000 Grab drivers around the country will receive an alert about any missing children through the National Urgent Response (NUR) Alert system.
A Safer Environment for Children
At the launch of the campaign, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh said that the NUR Alert system is a key factor for quick decisive action in protecting the country’s children.
With the addition of Grab, there are now 39 strategic partnerships between NUR Alert and others in government agencies, the private sector, and non-government organisations. RM50,000 has been allocated for the D11 division of the police to help expand their reach and aid in locating victims faster.
“The partnership is actually quite simple. The moment we receive the notification, we are going to send it out to our community. I think the enhancements really come in with our database having an understanding and live information on where our drivers are,” said Sean Goh, Country Head of Grab Malaysia.
He explained that Grab can target drivers going in and out of a certain area and notify them of missing children in that area.
“We are trying to layer on a lot more sophistication, a lot more data in real-time, to try and improve the efficiency,” he added.
Wider Reach
Yeoh said that the main benefit of enlisting Grab into the NUR Alert partnership is the fact that Grab drivers are already on the road. These 300,000 drivers can already be alert to trace any missing children when they get the NUR Alert notification.
“When you send a notification to a government agency, they probably have to travel to get to that area where the child is last seen, but if you get a notification where the child was last seen, and I’m certain there will be Grab drivers in that vicinity, the response is almost immediate. They are there, they can be on the lookout,” she said.
NUR Alert is an early warning system for missing children, and is a government initiative to ensure that every child receives protection from exploitation, violence, and neglect.
For reporting such cases, Talian Kasih 15999 is a 24-hour hotline set up to address issues including missing children, child abandonment, domestic violence, and welfare assistance. The public can report missing children to Talian Kasih at 15999, or to the police at 999.
For more information about parenting and family, please visit Motherhood.com.my.