KUALA LUMPUR: A baby hatch will be set up soon for people to drop off their unwanted babies.

An organisation called OrphanCARE will place the baby hatch on its premises in Petaling Jaya.

If successful, the non-profit organisation hopes to place them at government hospitals and health centres around the country.

Germany and Japan have adopted the system as a way to support single mothers who cannot raise children on their own.

OrphanCARE, set up two years ago, works with the government to expedite adoption processes.

It helps to match and place abandoned and orphaned babies with suitable parents.

OrphanCARE president Datuk Adnan Mohd Tahir said people must be allowed to leave their babies without fear of prosecution so that these babies could be cared for.

He said the organisation had the support of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

Asked whether the setting up of a baby hatch would encourage pre-marital sex, Adnan said: "There is an increasing number of babies born out of wedlock, many of whom are left in waste dumps, bushes, drains and public toilets.

"Many unwed mothers are young and abandon their babies because of the social stigma and legal implications, compounded by a sense of hopelessness of not knowing who to turn to."

OrphanCARE intends to practise a "don't ask, don't tell" policy for those who leave their babies at the hatch.

Mothers intending to do so should, however, provide the child's birth certificate and consent for the baby to be given up for adoption.

The birth certificate is necessary to ensure that the child will not be stateless.

"Even foreigners who drop off their babies at the hatch should provide the birth certificate," said Adnan.

"We will work with the embassies of their countries to get the children proper documents."

He also said the baby hatch that was being planned would be monitored via a surveillance camera.

"We will ensure the safety of infants placed at the hatch."

Women's Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah said the idea should be studied carefully.

While not opposing the idea of setting up a baby hatch, Josiah was concerned about "difficult bureaucratic hurdles".

"Women who drop off their babies might not include the birth certificate. This is because they would be afraid of registering the newborn in the first place.

"They would not want to face the authorities," she said.

"What we need is a more holistic approach which starts with better sex education.

"We also need non-judgmental and open policies to support the women.

"Society, too, needs to change its attitude and we need to work against the stigma that comes with such pregnancies."

Josiah believed the baby hatch idea, first mooted in the 1990s by the ministry, should be the last option.