Harsher punishment must be imposed against those who view, share child porn

HAH ALAM - Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) urges the government to enact and amend the law for a harsher punishment against individuals involved in activities like viewing or sharing child pornographic materials.

Its youth chief Naim Brundage said the matter was due to the police's findings where 106,764 internet protocol (IP) that was registered in the country was involved in the sharing of pornographic material involving children.

He said this was worrying and swift action was needed from the government to overcome it.

"As we all know children are among the most vulnerable group, so all efforts must be taken to protect them.

"This effort needs the involvement of all parties from parents, teachers to enforcement agencies.

"Maybe not everyone knows that child pornography would lead to a multitude of other issues, including sex addiction that would put children in danger," he said in a press statement on Tuesday.

Naim said the action could also create other negative behaviours such as aggressiveness and stress.

He said with the current technology boom in the cyberspace, there are at least 500,000 websites and 370 million sites that spread such material.

"There are reports showing that each second over 30,000 internet users browse pornography websites, while 68 million users search for pornographic materials daily.

"Pornography on the internet is easily accessible, cheap and the identity of the users is protected behind social media, email and mobile application. It is undeniable that the benefit of the internet is plentiful, however, it also has negative elements," he said.

Naim had also asked for the government to empower the Sexual Crimes, Women and Children Investigation Division (D11) and the Crimes Against Children Investigation Unit (MICAC) to curb this crime more effectively.

"We have to act before it is too late because based on the information obtained by D11, the activity of browsing the internet including uploading and downloading pornographic material involving children in the country is rising every year. This development indeed is a worrying trend," he stated.