An average of 100 babies are dumped nationwide in Malaysia every year with more than half of them found dead according to police statistics.

The media quoted the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development in January 2016 as saying that out of the 104 babies dumped in 2015, 61 were dead and only 43, alive.

In 2014, 75 were found dead and only 28, alive while in 2013, 58 were found dead and only 32, alive.

Police statistics from earlier years show that 407 babies were dumped nationwide between 2005 to 2010 averaging about 80 per year with Selangor, Johor and Sabah being the states with the highest cases recorded.

The recorded cases are likely the tip of the iceberg because with every baby found and recorded, many others may have been buried or thrown into the abyss, never to be found.

What is Malaysia’s solution to these human tragedies and acts of desperation by girls and women who had to resort to such unthinkable solutions after finding themselves entangled in hopeless situations?

Most suggestions and solutions have either been reactive to headlines of babies thrown alive from high-rise buildings or are temporary solutions that are good but lack the political will and public support to implement once the furore fizzles down.

Sex education in schools having too weak an impact on teens

Among the solutions implemented is sex education in schools. These take the form of various programmes such as the National Policy and Plan of Action on Reproductive Health and Social Education introduced in 2009, The Reproductive and Social Health Programme ( Pekerti) introduced in 2012 and a Training for Trainers course in September 2014.

These were implemented in various schools at various levels but by and large the programmes were limited in number and lacked a nationwide-wide impact. Pregnancy prevention methods were also conspicuously absent from the syllabus.

The lukewarm impact of such programmes are evidenced by local data on teenage sexual behaviour and sexual knowledge.

Results of the Malaysian Population and Family survey 2014 revealed that many teenagers in the country were still clueless about reproductive health.

From the same survey, it showed that 42.9% admitted they had been exposed to obscene material and 9.9% admitted to having had sexual intercourse.

From the “Risk Factor and Protection for Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health Study 2013” conducted in Sabah and Sarawak, it was revealed that the minimum age for first-time sex among students in Sarawak was 15.3 years.

Similarly in a study of secondary school students in Negeri Sembilan, the mean age of male students who had their first sexual intercourse was 14.9 years.

Another local study in the Klang Valley reported that among adolescents who experienced premarital sexual intercourse, 72% did not use any contraception during their first sexual encounter.

Baby hatches have had limited success

Malaysia’s first baby hatch was launched in 2010 by OrphanCare and subsequently other baby hatches were set up in other parts of the country.

The aim of the baby hatch is to offer mothers who do not want their babies, a safe place to surrender them instead of abandoning the little ones in dangerous spots where their lives are at risk.

It was reported that by the end of 2015, the lives of 207 babies were saved thanks to the baby hatch programme. However, the number of babies dumped yearly up to 2015 did not show a corresponding reduction.

By and large baby hatches represent a harm reduction programme of sorts and has been met with limited success due to it being an end-of-the-line solution, rather than a strategy to tackle the root causes of unwanted pregnancies.

Other solutions

Among the other solutions proposed are criminalising baby dumping by meting out harsher punishments on the perpetrators including their male partners.

The police have also proposed to set up a DNA data bank to trace those who dump their babies.

Other calls by various NGOs have included the move to reinforce religious education and character building thus the launch of such campaigns as the “Stop Valentine’s or New Year Day’s celebrations” and increased monitoring of illicit sexual activities in hotels or dormitories.

Boarding schools for pregnant teenagers were also set up in Malacca as one of the ways to reduce the incidence of baby dumping.

All these proposals or “solutions” were again reactive to the problem and does little to solve the real issue at hand or the multifactorial causes of why baby dumping occurs.

What needs to be accepted

For real tangible change to occur in tackling the problem, we must accept and acknowledge the body of evidence regarding what methods work.

1) Behind every baby dumped is an unplanned pregnancy.

2) Sexual activity among the young and adolescents will occur increasingly as they transition through the different age groups to adulthood.

3) Criminalising what is the tragic end-result of natural human biology does not stop nature in its tracks.

4) Knowledge of and access to contraceptives and pregnancy prevention methods have never been shown to increase sexual activity in the young.

5) The public, parents, teachers and NGOs must take ownership of the problem and push for real change rather than leave it all to the government or authorities.

What needs to be done

1) We need to implement age appropriate Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in schools nationwide without further delay. CSE includes imparting critical knowledge about human reproduction and pregnancy prevention methods.

2) Access to contraception must be made available for those who are already sexually active as its usage has been shown convincingly to decrease unintended pregnancies.

3) Cultural taboos about single motherhood must be softened and in its place greater acceptance and support for single mothers or teenagers.

4) The anonymous childbirth system supported by a comprehensive set of policies and services of handling babies that may potentially be abandoned should be enacted. This is in line with the international charter of child rights and presents an opportunity for a child and mother to meet later in life.

5) Amendments to the laws and regulations that will facilitate the various proposals.

We could continue to turn a blind eye to the tragedies, and offer ad hoc, half-hearted, as well as politically and culturally acceptable “solutions” to the issue of baby dumping, or for once, take the bold resolve as a nation to face the facts and offer real life-changing solutions that will make a better world for our next generation.

Dr John Teo is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

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