State women, family, social welfare, cooperatives and entrepreneur development committee chairman Salbiah Mohamed said as of Feb 28 this year, 142 child abuse cases were reported in Perak, compared with 111 cases in the same period last year.

Bernama reported her as saying this in the state assembly to a question from Norhaslinda Zakaria (PN-Pangkor), who sought information about child abuse cases in the state.

Salbiah said the department carried out 30 child protection advocacy programmes last year under the Kasih Kanak-Kanak initiative, in partnership with the Perak education department.

She said tackling the problem required a collaborative approach, rather than being solely the social welfare department’s responsibility.

“A coordinated, cross-departmental strategy is essential to achieve the best outcomes,” she said, stressing the importance of cooperation among various agencies such as the health department, district health offices and police.