Police mobilized officers and distributed photos of Sharlinie Mohamad Nashar and a suspect throughout the country and at all borders, said a police spokesman who asked not to be named, citing protocol. A radio station is providing hourly updates on the investigation.

Sharlinie went missing on Wednesday from a playground near her house. Her 8-year-old sister, who was with her, said she saw a woman drag Sharlinie into a black car, but police are still investigating her claims, the officer said.

'We have set up a task force ... It is a priority,' he said.

'Every minute counts'
Sharlinie's disappearance has raised fears of a repeat of a case in September when the naked body of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, 8, was found stuffed in a gym bag. Nurin, who was sexually abused, had gone missing in August when she had gone alone to a night market near her home.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said on Thursday that Sharlinie's case mustn't be a repeat of the Nurin tragedy.

'We must help the police find this little girl before anything untoward happens,' she told reporters Thursday. 'From what we've learned from Nurin's case, we cannot waste even a minute. Every minute counts.'

Sharlinie's parents, who haven't slept or eaten since their daughter went missing, have also appealed to everyone to help find the girl who is asthmatic and needs medication, local media said.

Sharlinie's disappearance was front page news on Friday in all newspapers. English language Star and the New Straits Times devoted four pages to the news.

'Please, don't let her be another Nurin,' the New Straits Times quoted her mother, Mrs Suraya Ahmad, as saying.

Other similar cases
Police are investigating whether Sharlinie's disappearance is related to another girl's brief abduction on Monday. A motorcyclist asked the 6-year-old to go see cats and birds with him. She was found several hours later wandering in the streets unharmed and gave a description of the suspect.

Similar abductions took place last year, but all girls, except Nurin, were returned. Some were sexually abused.

Deputy Tourism Minister Donald Lim Siang Chai, who is a parliamentarian for the area, where Sharlinie?s family lives, has offered RM5,000 (S$2,195)) to anyone with information leading to her safe return, a Tourism Ministry spokeswoman said.