Kids of junkies need not live in peril
INTERVENTION: Rescue them from harmful situation before it’s too late
We could not help asking how a drug addict mum was allowed to take care of her children, exposing them to all sorts of harm as she gratifies her addiction together with other junkies.
IT was Thursday evening and Nor Halijah (not her real name) was about to unwind upon arriving home after completing her shift at an electronics factory in Bayan Lepas, Penang. As the 30-year-old mother of three was browsing through social media updates, she came across a breaking news that struck fear in her heart.
The news on the discovery of a decomposed body of a 2-year-old boy in Paya Nahu Flats, Sungai Petani, Kedah, allegedly a victim of abuse by a drug addict, sent shivers down her spine.
She broke out in cold sweat as she read the news, and fervently prayed for the safety of her son, who is living with her ex-husband in rural Kedah.
Flashes of heart-wrenching memories spanning seven years of her life with a drug addict companion began playing in her head.
Her motherly instinct tells her to jump into a cab and head straight to her former in-laws’ home to claim back their 4-year-old son. However, Halijah suddenly realised that it was she who had agreed to surrender the custody rights to her second child to her ex-husband earlier this year.
“I could not take it any more and decided to dissolve our marriage because he had been neglecting his duties as a husband and father,” she said while holding back tears.
Halijah wanted to claim custody of all her three children, but caved in when her ex-husband’s family demanded her second child so that the divorce could be “expedited”.
She was caught off-guard during the proceedings, as being unemployed at the time, was ignorant on how to convince the court that she was capable of fending for all three of her children.
Halijah’s lack of knowledge of her rights and the whole legal process has resulted in her ex-husband, who has never made an attempt to seek treatment for his addiction, taking her second child home with him.
“I wish I had done more. I really do not know what to do, but I am having sleepless nights after reading news of the Paya Nahu incident. My exhusband had taken my children to a drug haunt at his village, and I am extremely worried that he would do the same with my son.”
Halijah’s case is just the tip of the iceberg. While we are left astounded by the fate that had befallen the 2year-old Paya Nahu flats victim and his 4-year-old sister, who is recuperating from her injuries, there are many children out there who are at risk of losing their precious lives at the hands of unstable guardians.
The New Straits Times has been running reports exposing the background of the children’s mother and her boyfriend, which led to the gruesome killing.
It was mind-boggling to learn that the children were living with their mother who could not even take care of herself because of her drug addiction.
We could not help asking how a drug addict mum was allowed to take care of her children, exposing them to all sorts of harm as she gratifies her addiction together with other junkies.
Did her family take the necessary effort to avert the incident?
What can we, as a community, have done to intervene and rescue the children in likewise situations before it is too late?
The Child Act 2001 clearly outlines the protection for children in the country, but the Paya Nahu incident should serve as a wake-up call for all of us to relook the law and how effective is its implementation.
Academicians and criminologists agree that it is crucial to have an intervention mechanism to immediately revoke the custody rights of parents who are found guilty of drug abuse.
While we are not denying the drug abusers’ rights to undergo rehabilitation and start all over again, we need a sound supervision mechanism to ensure that they are fully ready to be entrusted with innocent souls.
In the meantime, without proper help, Halijah can only pray hard that her second child will not end up in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
She is not the first case and without swift intervention from all stakeholders, the number of women who risk suffering the same fate as Halijah will only grow bigger.
adie.zulkefli@nst.com.my