PETALING
JAYA, May 12 — Parent groups urged Putrajaya to meet and come up with a sex
education syllabus for schools after the Health Ministry revealed that HIV is
increasingly transmitted through sex.
Parent
Action Group of Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahman said
yesterday that the health and education ministries should meet to decide what
should be in the syllabus.
“Both
ministries need to specify what is needed in the syllabus and come up with a
solution before introducing to schools and enforcing it,” she said.
Noor
Azimah said parents must also educate their children on sex.
“As a
parent, you cannot depend fully on the schools to educate your children on sex.
You too must play your part in educating your children on unsafe sex and its
consequences,” she said.
Dr
Sha’ari Ngadiman, disease control deputy director and HIV/ STI sector head of
the Health Ministry, said on Tuesday
that 2015 statistics showed that 78 per cent of HIV infections were through
sex, up from 74.6 per cent in 2014.
According
to him, there were 3,330 new infections last year, including 1,398 through
heterosexual transmission and 1,203 through homosexual and bisexual
transmission.
National
Parent-Teacher Association chairman Prof Datuk Mohamad Ali said the relevant
ministries and religious bodies should discuss the matter.
“They
should all come up with an integrated syllabus as the current syllabus in
schools touches on sex education separately,” he said.
Mohamad
Ali suggested that sex education deals with the consequences of unsafe sex as well
as religious and cultural factors.
“This
will teach the children on how to respect their bodies and also someone else’s.
They should also be taught about self control and abstaining from premarital
sex,” he said.
Mohamad
Ali said sex education should emphasise on responsibility and care for others.
“The male
should learn how to take care of their female counterparts and not make them an
object for sex,” he said.
Pink
Triangle chief operating officer Raymond Goh welcomed the Health Ministry’s
suggestion for sex education in schools.
“If young
people are aware of how they should care for their body and reproductive
health, there will be a significant difference in the numbers,” he said.
Goh said
sex education works as an indirect preventive measure that will make young
people more cautious.
“So far,
there had been many suggestions about the introduction of sex education.
However, we have yet to see any results, so I hope the Education Ministry will
agree with this suggestion,” he said.
United
Nations Population Fund Programme adviser Saira Shameem said sex education
would not promote sex, but would instead deter risky behaviour.
“A global
research shows that comprehensive sexual education can delay sexual initiation
and is an effective deterrent of teen pregnancy.
“The
number of births per 1,000 girls, aged 15 to 19, is 13 for Malaysia and only
four for Singapore. I believe they are doing much better than us right now
because of sex education in their country,” she said.
Saira
added that the Health Ministry’s effort to encourage sex education shows that
they are moving with the current generation and are interested in the
well-being of the public, especially young people.
“Their
commitment and interest is essential for a long-term positive impact as it will
ensure that young children are aware of the consequences, in terms of financial
stability and responsibility of having a child caused by unsafe sex,” she said.
Lavinia
Louis and Juliana Menon
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