LETTER | Early morning conversations just before starting our core business of teaching often spring new ideas and unexplored possibilities.

Today was one of those mornings. The recent deaths of children left in parked cars in Negeri Sembilan and Kedah were the topic of discussion today.

These tragedies are heartbreaking because they are preventable deaths. We have watched this pattern repeat for years, from the multiple deaths in 2023 to these latest incidents, and we believe enough is enough.

As we know it, most of these cases involve what researchers call “Forgotten Baby Syndrome” - a memory lapse driven by stress, fatigue, and breaks in routine.

It is not a sign of bad parenting (reference); it is a failure of habitual memory that can affect any caregiver, regardless of love or attentiveness. Undeniably, in the current stressful living or working environment, it can happen to anyone.

Although measures were proposed, the incidence of these tragedies continues. As discussed, no single measure will stop this entirely. What may work is layering multiple safeguards so that when one fails, another catches the gap.

We write from different but complementary vantage points: one of us has spent years as a paediatric lecturer deeply connected to Malaysia; the other is a Malaysian paediatrician who worked in the Health Ministry.

We are not writing to assign blame but want to share possible safeguards that may offer a cure to the said tragedy.

Building on what already exists

Start with where people park. Drivers read “Park at your own risk” signs every day. Adding a child safety reminder to the same signage costs almost nothing and creates a prompt at exactly the right moment.

Malls, offices, and hospitals - all of these already have signage infrastructure in place. Workplaces can do the same. A reminder at the parking exit, at the clock-in machine, or folded into an existing safety briefing takes minutes to implement.

For organisations with many employees, that’s a wide reach for very little investment.

Healthcare and existing programmes

Routine visits - obstetric, maternity, paediatric - are natural touchpoints. We are not suggesting more work for already-stretched doctors and nurses. A well-placed notice in a waiting area or consultation room does the job without adding a single item to anyone’s to-do list.

The MYCRS child car seat subsidy programme has already built real awareness among parents. Its messaging could reasonably extend to include forgotten-child prevention without a separate campaign.

A technological layer: MySejahtera

We do not need a new app. MySejahtera is already on most Malaysian smartphones. A forgotten-child prevention module within the existing platform would reach far more people than any standalone tool.

The design matters enormously here. The module should use the phone’s motion sensors only - not GPS - so no location data is collected or transmitted.

It should work entirely on-device. It should be on by default for parents and caregivers, not something they have to remember to enable.

It could be activated at the point of antenatal registration for pregnancy and reinforced at hospital discharge once the child is born, and remains active until the child reaches a certain age.

The phone alert logic needs to be smarter. In Malaysian traffic, a phone that buzzes every time a car stops would be ignored within days.

The module should distinguish between a red light and an actual journey end - triggering only when the vehicle has been stationary for more than two minutes.

Critically, the system must be able to bypass the phone’s silent mode. A notification that sits unseen in a bag is useless. The feature should use the phone’s built-in alarm function, which rings even when the phone is on silent or do not disturb.

This capability already exists on both iOS and Android - it just needs reinforcement to be used.

No technology or tool is perfect, and each may fall short in specific ways. Waze, widely used in Malaysia, offers a “Child Reminder” feature, but it requires the driver to activate the app at the start of each trip - an easy step to skip when rushing to a familiar destination.

What we need is a solution that works passively, without requiring any action from the caregiver.

Safe-Seat offers more reliable functionality, but it is paid, which puts it beyond the reach of many families.

The point

None of this requires new money or new agencies. It needs coordination - between government, healthcare providers, and the private sector - applied to infrastructure that is already there.

Every one of these deaths was preventable. No parent or carer can ever imagine that they are capable of forgetting their child left in the car.

That is precisely why this requires a system-level response (passive prevention) and is not dependent on individual actions.

We are tired, we are distracted, we are human - we need workable solutions and safeguards to account for human fallibility.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.