KUALA LUMPUR: A special alert system, which will be used to galvanise efforts in the search for missing children, is expected to be tabled to the cabinet in April, nearly three years after it was first proposed.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the ministry and police had held discussions on the system and that she hoped it could be finalised soon.

She said the system, which was proposed in 2007 following the abduction and brutal murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, should be speeded up to ensure there would be an alert system to help trace missing children.

"We are concerned over the fate of these children who could end up being victims to all kinds of crimes including human trafficking," she told reporters after opening a seminar attended by senior policewomen in Cheras, here today.

The system would involve the police, related enforcement agencies and members of the public.

"Through the system, when a missing child report is lodged, we can immediately activate the emergency response system by sending the victim's picture to the media and putting it up in public places as well as in all exit points," she said.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, who was present at the event, said police had been using a similar system in dealing with missing person reports.

"When we receive a missing person report, we will immediately inform all police headquarters and stations as well as those on duty at borders. But this is done only at police level and needs time to reach the public," he said.

He added that with the integrated alert system, the flow of information could be speeded up through the involvement of other agencies and the public.

Meanwhile, Shahrizat said the ministry was finalising the amendment to the Domestic Violence Act 1994 to ensure a more effective enforcement.

"We are concerned over the incidence of domestic violence and violence against women. If at the moment violence is defined in terms of physical, we want to expand it by including psychological as well," she said.