8,662 couples take part in SmartStart programme

A total of 8,662 couples who have been married less than five years have joined the Women, Family and Community Ministry's Smarstart programme since it was introduced in 2006 until March this year. Deputy Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun said the programme, which aimed to strengthen family institutions, also emphasised on parenting and how to handle stress and conflict. "We've carried out 429 programmes with cooperation from the National Registration Department, non-governmental organisations and religious bodies," she said in reply to a question from Senator Datuk Muhamad Yusof Husin during the question and answer session at the Dewan Negara here on Wednesday. Muhamad Husin wanted to know steps taken by the ministry when moral crisis such as baby dumping and murdering one's own parents are on the rise among Malaysians. Commenting further, Azizah said the ministry also implemented the Smartstart 2nd Honeymoon since 2010 to help couples who were facing marital conflict. She said until December 2012, 11 programmes were conducted with participation from 260 couples. "To increase parenting skills and knowledge, the ministry offers the Ilmu Keluarga@LPPKN course to the general public in each state. "From 2006 to March 2013, a total of 9,084 courses were carried out with 976,823 participants," she said. She added that in efforts to strengthen Malaysian families, other programmes on parenting for working parents and outreach counseling programmes for families facing conflict were held, as well as introduction of the Talian Nur 15999 to allow the public to lodge complaints on social problems.