N.U.R.I.N Alert in place, says Shahrizat

A system to immediately alert everyone when a missing child case is reported is already in place.

This could be seen in the case of Sharlinie Mohd Nashar where various groups, including the media and the community, were coming together quickly to locate her, says Datuk Sharizat Jalil.

According to the Star, Datuk Sharizat, who is Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said her Ministry is "awaiting the Cabinet’s approval before formally implementing the system."

She was asked to comment on when a system such as the Nationwide Urgent Response Information Network (N.U.R.I.N) Alert would be implemented to help locate missing children without delay.

The N.U.R.I.N Alert was first suggested following the murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin who was abducted and her body was found stuffed into a sports bag a month later last September.

Nurin’s uncle Jasni Abdul Jalil and several bloggers (Rocky'sbru and Nuraina A. Samad. among others) drafted a proposal on the Nurin Alert and submitted it to Shahrizat’s ministry late last year. (Read Nuraina's "Activating (NURIN) Alert for Nini" here)

In the United States, the Amber (America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response) Alert is a warning system implemented to immediately trace missing children via a comprehensive network involving authorities and the community.

It was named after Amber Hagerman, nine, who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996.

Shahrizat said lessons were learnt from Nurin’s case and efforts to locate Sharlinie started earlier, including the immediate distribution of posters.

“Police have also taken quicker action and there is more involvement from the community and non-governmental organisations.”

For more on Nurin Alert, read here