KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — PAS clerics have opposed the government’s plan to introduce sex education in secondary schools next year, claiming that young people will use it as an excuse to watch pornography.
PAS ulama wing information chief Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali at-Takiri said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry should introduce “Islamic sex education” and teach abstinence instead.
“KPWKM’s decision will cause more harm as young people will use sex education to justify surfing pornography websites,” Mohd Khairuddin said in a statement today, using the Malay acronym for the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim reportedly said that sex education will be introduced in 2016 for boys aged 16 years and above to increase awareness on reproductive and sexual health topics.
The PAS official claimed that the sex education implemented in Malaysia from 1994 to 2010 was ineffective in reducing unwanted pregnancies, saying that more than 18,000 cases of teen pregnancies were recorded in 2013, an increase from the previous year.
He also claimed there were 234,647 illegitimate children recorded in 2011, showing a “drastic” increase.
Mohd Khairuddin did not name the source of his statistics.
“The facts supporting my argument are a UK study that revealed that teen pregnancies were the highest in areas that had aggressive and active promotion of sex education,” he said, also without naming the study.
He said in Islamic sex education, children between 7 and 10 years are taught about asking for permission and the etiquette of looking at others. Those between 10 and 14 years are taught to avoid things that arouse desire, while those aged between 14 and 16 years are taught about sexual ethics.
Mohd Khairuddin added that young people must be taught abstinence until they reach the age of sexual maturity or adulthood, especially those who are not yet able to marry.
“As a conclusion, I stress once more that sex education will not bring a positive impact, but will worsen social problems in society if it is not done based on Islamic methods,” he said.
Pro-sex education advocates say that comprehensive sex education helps reduce teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, with US news website The Huffington Post quoting a California Department of Public Health report in 2013 as saying that the American state’s teen birth rate has dropped by almost 60 per cent as a result of expanded sex education programmes.
