Management of Baby Dumping in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The cases of foetus and infant dumping have been robustly reported in the media and immediate attention should be taken due consideration to tackle the preventive issues of baby abandonment. An aspect of prevention of baby abandonment is through the establishment of baby shelter. This study is aimed to identify the best practice of managing baby shelters in Malaysia setting which takes into consideration the social, cultural, religious and legal aspects. This paper focuses on the discussion of the findings based on a qualitative research that was conducted based on semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted among officers in Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, Polis DiRaja Malaysia and OrphanCare in 2013. It was suggested that at present, the management of baby dumping in Malaysia is focusing on the remedial issues in which efforts are exerted by establishing shelters for abandoned babies. The Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, operating under the the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, police departments and hospital agencies are all responsible for handling the reported cases of abandoned babies. There are also other groups in the society, such as OrphanCare  that support the establishment of baby shelters. The findings also suggested that the religious affiliation should also play an active role in curbing these issues particularly in decision making and consultation. There are areas of limitations found in this study which require further investigations. The issues and challenges faced in tackling this phenomenon need to be taken into account to exert proactive and preventive actions. The discussion and conclusion are elaborated in this paper.