‘Strap them in properly’

> Parents told to ensure children’s car safety with right equipment

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Parents must ensure that their vehicles are properly fitted with the right child restraint or booster seat when travelling with children below seven years of age.

Johor State Women, Family And Community Development Committee chairman Asiah Md. Ariff said it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that their children are safely strapped when travelling in a vehicle.

“The two-year-old toddler who was flung out of a car and subsequently killed after being run over by another vehicle is not the first case in Malaysia,” she said, adding that the authorities have repeatedly advised parents to always ensure that children are strapped in properly.

On Saturday, Goh Hao Zheng Jayden was killed in Desa Cermalang, Masai after the back passenger door flew open while the car was in motion causing him to fall out.

Asiah said often parents are very lackadaisical and take safety for granted including not administering the child lock on car doors.

“There’s no point crying after an incident happens. To me, it’s negligence as people always think it will never happen to them,” she added.

Asiah also attributed other incidences such as children falling down, their feet getting stuck in escalators, and losing their children in shopping malls and crowded places, to negligence.

An awareness campaign will be organised if there are more such incidents, she said.

State assemblyman Chew Peck Choo (Yong Peng-DAP) when contacted said the child would not have died if the parents paid more attention to his safety.

Similarly, she added, parents must also not leave their children unattended in a vehicle with the motor running.

She said it is important that parents cultivate good habits to reduce putting children at risk.