PETALLING JAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh states that the inadequacies within Malaysia’s sexual education curriculum should be tackled to reduce societal issues amongst young people.
According to Yeoh, data indicated that numerous teenagers initiate sexual activity before reaching 14 years old; however, structured sex education in educational institutions starts at 15, as reported by Bernama.
“She stated that this gap must be filled,” according to her comments made during a meeting chaired at Wisma KBS with young leaders from different religious backgrounds, focusing on resolving societal problems.
Yeoh mentioned that both the Education Ministry and the Health Ministry recognized the problem and were planning to enhance the curriculum accordingly.
She mentioned as well that traditional methods for tackling young people’s social issues are no longer adequate.
“We must consider innovative approaches to address youth social problems since these challenges are growing more intricate,” she stated.
Therefore, Yeoh stated that the administration would concentrate on producing digital content and employing online algorithms to more effectively connect with younger individuals.
She also highlighted a decrease in young people taking part in physical clubs and groups, with only one million youths actively participating.
“This indicates that they (the youth) have lost interest in physical activities and now lean towards online or networking platforms instead. Therefore, we must learn how to make the most of this scenario,” she stated.