SEVENTY-TWO mothers together with their husbands and babies came in full force to support The Malaysian Big Latch 2018, when they took part in the mass breastfeeding event here in Penang Times Square.
Organised by JCI Pearl, the event was aimed at encouraging mothers to breastfeed their babies and to raise awareness on the importance of breastfeeding.
Besides Penang, five other locations in Malaysia were also holding The Malaysian Big Latch 2018 simultaneously.
The organiser was attempting to break the Malaysia Book of Records which the organiser had set in 2016. A total of 820 mothers took part in the event that year.
Penang Women and Family Development, Gender Inclusiveness and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Chong Eng said the state government wanted to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies.
“The Penang government is very supportive of this breastfeeding practice. We are proud of breastfeeding mothers who make the effort to breastfeed their babies.
“We want to thank JCI Pearl for being sensitive towards gender issues. Husbands and wives must work together to build a healthy environment for your babies,” she said in her speech today.
The event was co-organised by Mother-to-Mother Peer Support Group (MMPS) and coordinated by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (Waba).
Organising chairman Autumn Tan said JCI Pearl was honoured to organise the event to raise awareness on the importance of breastfeeding.
“Besides Penang, The Malaysian Big Latch 2018 is also held in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Perak, Tawau and Kota Kinabalu at the same time,” she said.
At 3.20pm, the event saw a total of 610 mothers (from all six locations) took part in the event.
Despite not being able to break their own record of 820 mothers (who took part in 2016), JCI Pearl president Zendieey Lee was happy with the outcome.
“Our main objective is to raise awareness and to encourage mothers to breastfeed.
“Although we are unable to set a new record, we are happy that more people are now aware about the importance of breastfeeding,” Lee said.
Also present was MMPS advisor Dr Balkees Abdul Majeed.
There were also educational booths set up to help parents foster closer relationship with their babies besides the mass breastfeeding event in Penang Times Square.
Among the activities were nail and body art painting, sand art painting, and baby massage.
Story and pix by Christopher Tan
