PUTRAJAYA: Increasing the amount of class time for reproductive and social health education (PEERS) in schools are among the measures to be taken to address social issues, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said certain social problems stemmed from the fact that teenagers, some as young as 13 years old, were engaging in sexual activities.
“This matter needs to be addressed and requires collaboration between ministries.
“Among what has been decided is to set aside more time on reproductive knowledge for better awareness among students,” he said after chairing the National Social Council meeting yesterday.
However, he did not indicate what would be the proposed additional time to be allocated for these lessons.
PEERS education is currently being taught at primary and secondary schools for 30 minutes a week.
Ahmad Zahid said poor sexual and reproductive health knowledge among Malaysian teenagers might have left them unaware of the implication of engaging in sexual activity.
“The meeting had several papers presented and it has been decided for them to be brought to the Cabinet’s attention so that drastic measures can be taken to address the problem,” he added.
According to the Health Ministry’s National Health and Morbidity Survey 2022, 33% of the respondents admitted to having sex before they reached 14 years of age.
The survey had 154,646 respondents aged between 13 and 17.Earlier, at the Madani Economy: Empowering the People economic framework event, Ahmad Zahid said he hoped that through the initiative, Malaysia would achieve the goal of driving the top position in Asean.
Achieving this, said Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, would require the cooperation and assistance from the Cabinet and related agencies nationwide.
“It is hoped that this framework will drive Malaysia’s position as the top country in the region and also to be in a strong position among other countries.”
