By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 8: The ‘Baby Hatch’ initiative is not meant to encourage out-of-wedlock pregnancies or the abandonment of infants, but to save lives and ensure newborns are placed in safe environments, says Minister for Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
She emphasised that the facility serves as a lifeline for innocent babies and mothers in crisis, offering a safe alternative to dangerous abandonment.
“Baby hatch is not set up to promote unwanted pregnancies. It is created as a safe place so that babies are not abandoned in hazardous places like rubbish bins or toilets, as we have seen in several tragic cases,” she said during a press conference after chairing the Sarawak Women’s Day 2025 Celebration Meeting at Wisma Wanita in Petra Jaya here today, as reported by the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas).
“Our goal is to save lives. First, the life of an innocent baby. Second, the life of the mother so that she can begin anew. Our role is not to punish but to help,” she stressed.
Fatimah also made a public appeal for the mother of the baby left at the Borneo Medical Centre (BMC) baby hatch on June 15 to come forward to help determine the child’s citizenship status without the need to apply under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution.
She said the ministry will maintain full confidentiality, as clearly stated in public notices, to facilitate the issuance of a birth certificate with ‘K’ status, indicating Sarawakian citizenship.
“We are giving the family a month to provide information to assist in processing the baby’s records, including potential adoption into a new family,” she said.
If no one comes forward after the one-month period, she added, the Kuching Division Welfare Department will proceed with the citizenship application in cooperation with the National Registration Department (JPN).
The baby will subsequently be registered under the nationality of the adoptive parents.
Also present were Deputy Minister Datuk Rosey Yunus, Permanent Secretary Datu Felicia Tan Ya Hua, and heads of departments under the ministry. — DayakDaily
