Parents should be given access to childcare centre's CCTV

SHAH ALAM - Most of the community agrees that parents should be allowed to access closed circuit cameras (CCTV) in childcare centers, following several cases of abuse that have occurred in recent times.

This is bassed on a poll conducted by Sinar online on its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram platforms.

A poll conducted on Facebook found that 94 percent said it was appropriate for parents to access CCTV, while another six percent described it as inappropriate.

The same result was also obtained through a vote on Twitter, where 94 percent of the 141 votes cast agreed, while the rest stated that it was not appropriate.

Meanwhile, a poll on Instagram found that 95 percent of respondents agreed and believed that parents should be given access to view CCTV's in child care centres and five percent felt it was inappropriate.

Instagram user @komik_sempoi said parents have the right to access it in order to ensure the welfare of their children.

Unlike @fyrdaus_zolkarnain who sees it as inappropriate because there are two main issues that need attention.

"The issue is between monitoring the safety of the children and observing the movements of the staff who might be someone who is irresponsible or psycho. We can also investigate to what extent the CCTV 'link' is not spread to other parties.

"The children's safety is of course a priority, but if it is directly monitored by a certain agency coupled with recorded data, which must be submitted every year to the relevant parties, it is better.

"Periodic monitoring by the authorities and surprise inspections also need to be done," he said.

Last week, a video lasting two minutes and 12 seconds went viral showing a four-year-old boy being kicked, slapped and his hair pulled by a babysitter at a nursery in Luyang, Sabah.

CCTV footage showed the boy being slapped and hit with a ruler on the face and head several times while trying to eat.

Following that, the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri warned that strict action will be taken by not renewing the licenses of nursery operators who do not comply with the mandatory requirements of installing CCTV on their premises.