Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohamed has offered 'remedy' to the problem of close proximity or khalwat involving university students by saying that an Islamic religion centre had been set up in each university to provide counselling to the students.

From his explanation, Mustapa seems to have alluded that the close proximity is a problem affecting only the Malay students, hence the 'religion' solution. Should one then deduce that students of other races do not engage in close proximity or that their such behaviour is not concerning enough for Mustapa to warrant any action?

All religions do not condone close proximity but in this case the preference has been given to Muslim students. The problem of khalwat is not just confined to the Muslims but must also be arrested among students of other races.

While religion is vital in educating one on why sex before marriage is prohibited, Mustapa has conveniently overlooked the fact that students who engage in khalwat must be educated on the perils of unsafe sex.

Mustapa had recently said that khalwat topped the list of offences at local varsities as among the reported 3, 818 vices recorded over the past 35 years, 737 were khalwat cases. If this is the scenario at local varsities, one wonders what is happening in schools.

Mustapa and the government cannot hide under the veil of denial that youngsters of today do not indulge in sex. As the Durex Sex Survey has shown Malaysians are already engaging in sexual activity at a very young age i.e. while in their teens.

Having the Islamic religion centre is one thing. Mustapa must make sure that these centres do not play moral policing with the students. Rather than chastising the students on their misdemeanour, the counsellors must have the sensitivity to incorporate elements of psychology when counselling the students.

As religion is a very sensitive issue, the counsellors must never get carried away in discharging their duties. Every attempt must be made to refrain from character assassinating the students. There is a very fine line between preaching God's word and passing judgement on another person.

Besides using religion as the preventive factor, the centre must also educate the students on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like gonorrhea and HIV/Aids. To ignore this aspect of 'sex talk' is akin to letting the students 'commit suicide' in the long run.

Talk about sex education

Talking about sex education is the biggest problem for the country, more precisely for the government. The government's inability and its refusal to look at the issue of sex education squarely in the face and tackle it boldly has only worsened the situation.

The rate of HIV/Aids cases in Malaysia has been on the rise with most of the victims being those in their 20s and 30s.

For more than a decade now, the country has been struggling with the reality that sex education in schools and universities can no longer be delayed.

But because of the 'handicap' show by the government, it can be confirmed that the government really has no intention of education youngsters on sex, be it the issue of no sex before marriage or safe sex as well as the dangers posed by STDs like gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV/Aids.

It is funny how the word 'sex' has become an obstacle for the government, so much so that they view the term 'sex' as a taboo. And years have been spent trying to invent another word that can replace 'sex'.

Such foolishness is so typical of our government but it is one which is costing the nation its many young lives.

Since the government is 'shy' in talking about sex to children, the same problem has beckoned the teachers who have to teach sex education which is at present incorporated into other subjects.

At the expense of being philosophical, it is true that a bad leader sets a bad example and when it comes to sex education, the government certainly has set a bad example.

Government in denial

What truly is worrying Mustapa and the Government? Is it that youngsters are jumping into bed with all gay and abandon or that sex before marriage is not an issue for them? Or is it that premarital sex is instrumental in raising the cases of HIV/Aids in Malaysia?

To use religion as a safety net is not going to work because the reality today is that youngsters are indulging in sex, be it in one way or another. Campaigns and programmes can be organized to dissuade them from doing so provided the correct information is provided.

What is happening at present is that the government has taken the youngsters for granted to the point of insulting their intelligence.

To 'crucify' a youngster because he or she were caught for khalwat is hardly the solution to the problem. There will be no ripple effects from the religious 'crucification'- instead the problem might get out of hand.

Perhaps the counselling centres should bother asking the students why they engage in close proximity? Does the prohibition posed by religion not scare them? Is it peer pressure or influence from pornographic sources that push them to indulge in such acts?

If sex is seen as a way to de-stress them, then universities must find ways and means to help students unwind and de-stress.

Mustapa should equally lose sleep over the findings that 4,000 children, some as young as nine are engaging in prostitution. A study by a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer has found that 80 per cent of the survey respondents had dropped out of school or were not schooling, suffered some form of physical, sexual and emotional abuse or had run away from home.

It is in the best interest of the nation that sex education is dealt with quickly. No amount of denial or refusal to handle this issue is going to improve matters.

The sooner the government understands this, the sooner the statistics of our youngsters inflicted with HIV/Aids can be reduced.