KUALA LUMPUR — PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has called on government agencies to take coordinated and decisive action against online child sexual exploitation, following public outrage over the recent discovery of a predatory Facebook group.
In a statement, Nurul Izzah recalled receiving online gang rape threats earlier this year and noted that authorities took action on June 18, when the individual responsible was formally charged with publishing 11 obscene and threatening messages against her.
She said the incident serves as a stark reminder that action must be taken without delay or exception when such threats arise.
However, she expressed concern that sexual harassment and exploitation online remain serious problems, exacerbated by thousands of active predator networks that also target children.
The former Permatang Pauh MP highlighted the case of a Facebook group named Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah — which had over 12,000 members, many of whom passively consumed sexually explicit content involving primary schoolchildren.
She described the case as not just alarming but a “national disgrace”.
Although the group has since been shut down by regulators and social media platforms, Nurul Izzah said this alone was insufficient.
She also cited official data from 2023, which showed that child sexual crimes had risen by 26.5%, while cases involving child pornography had surged by a staggering 139.3%.
“These are not just numbers. They are a collective cry for immediate, systemic reform — not just well-worded laws that gather dust,” she said.
“What we need urgently are coordinated and decisive actions from government agencies such as the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM),” she added.
Nurul Izzah called on the Communications Ministry and MCMC to clearly outline their monitoring mechanisms and prove their effectiveness in detecting online child sexual predation.
She also urged the police and KPWKM to publicly release reports on the Facebook group case and previous similar incidents that have remained out of public view.
In addition, she called for a detailed implementation update on the Online Safety Act 2025 — which came into force this year — to be tabled in Parliament, along with briefings on the performance of the D11 sexual crimes unit one year after its formation, in order to assess its strengths and shortcomings.
“A special allocation should also be channelled to strengthen this unit. Malaysia must upgrade its systems to provide early warnings for communities.
“We would do well to emulate — and lead — a network similar to ELIPSIA, an international police cooperation initiative spanning 11 Latin American and seven European countries, which enables police forces to jointly combat the online sexual abuse and exploitation of minors,” she suggested.
Nurul Izzah also called for easier public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry, which was established in 2019 — not to shame individuals, she said, but to protect the community.
She further urged the Education Ministry to strengthen its health education syllabus by incorporating online safety awareness, so students can recognise inappropriate behaviour and identify perpetrators.
The existence of the Facebook group targeting schoolchildren came to light following revelations by rapper Ariz Ramli, popularly known as Caprice, and influencer Wee Yun Nee, also known as Mekyun.
Wee lodged a police report on June 12 after discovering that the group had shared photos of her as a child.
She urged others not to remain silent if faced with similar situations and encouraged children to inform their parents if they are subjected to online harassment. — June 22, 2025