COMMENT | Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin has urged parents to contact the relevant government agencies for financial help, instead of "selling-off" their children.

That is all very well said. But what happens if the parents are ignorant of this help which is available?

For 61 years, Umno-Baru made 14 visits (every five years) to the rural areas to seduce the village headman, to encourage his flock to vote for Umno-Baru, with goody bags of milo, rice and milk powder. It is doubtful that any useful social enterprise message filtered down to the villagers.

Malaysian women are the backbone of family life in Malaysia, the economy, the workforce, the teaching institutions and factories - but they are being attacked, physically and metaphorically, like never before.

Malaysian women make easy victims.

You would think that Parliament would offer some protection for women MPs when sexist remarks are directed at them. In the end, it depends on the will of the Speaker to demand a retraction, or an apology, but you might as well expect a flock of pigs to fly overhead.

Let us hope, the new Speaker will not fail the Malaysian public and its women MPs.

When Facebook posters encouraged the murder of a promising woman politician, the assemblyperson for Seri Delima, Syerleena Abdul Rashid, the police should have zoomed-in quickly to apprehend those responsible for making the threats.

If the Royal Malaysian Police Force is able to arrest those who have allegedly insulted the royalty and criticised the disgraced former PM, Najib Abdul Razak, the same speedy response should have been possible for Syerleena's aggressors...