AN AVERAGE of 4,000 girls under the age of 18 become pregnant every year in the country, statistics from the Health Ministry (MOH) showed.

Sex experts said Malaysian teenagers are not taught right when it comes to the subject of sex education.

They even claimed the figure 4,000 is way off the mark and does not reflect the true situation of teenage pregnancies as many go unreported.

Lecturers in obstetrics and gynaecology at Universiti Science Malaysia blamed high teen pregnancies squarely on the lack and improper teaching on the “birds and the bees”.

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Society for Scientific Study of Sexuality vice-president Tan Hoon Kian said even at the official figure of 4,000, the sheer number begs the question if Malaysian teenagers have learnt anything in their sex education classes.

It’s inadequate, Tan said, to the point it actually makes efforts to get teenagers to understand procreation ineffective.

“If you are surprised by the MOH statistics, get ready for the reality. The number should be more than that.

“It is higher,” she said.

Tan said sex education as a subject in school was introduced more than 10 years ago and yet the figures do not show we have succeeded in getting the basic message of the subject through – to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

“When it was introduced, there were so many social problems involving teenagers. Young unmarried mothers, unwanted pregnancies, abortions and baby dumping.

“Sociologists and other experts were asked to study the issue and determine its root cause. Studies pointed to what teens learnt and picked up at home.

“Studies found parents simply did not know how to educate their children on what was and is a taboo subject in most homes.

“That’s the reason why educating teens on sex was started in schools.”

Comparing Malaysia’s situation to China, which also introduced sex education in schools a decade ago, Tan said the result in China was much better even though sex education is not an examination subject and students are not graded on what they have learnt.

“So that begs the question, has sex education in Malaysia achieved any real effect?”

Tan said she does not believe it has.

“There’s still a bit of a gap,” she added.

Tan said the problem is compounded when teachers do not want to teach the subject.

“They said they do not want to teach the subject because they don’t have the time for it.”

Tan said Malaysian teachers teach like robots when it comes to sex education.

“They teach strictly following the curriculum but when questions come from students, they do not know how to handle the questions.

“That’s the state of sex education in Malaysia. Teachers do not know how to get the message on the largely taboo subject through.”

Sex educationist and psychological counselor Chan Fun Shin agreed with Tan.

“Even with a good syllabus, when you have teachers who can’t teach properly, the result is inevitable.”

Chan is, however, not coming down hard on these “incompetent” teachers.

“They are after all, human beings, shy on such a subject.”

He believes there is still a lot of room for progress, especially at the secondary school level.

He said the values of different ethnic and religious groups should also be taken into consideration.

“There is no one value that fits all.”

He said it is therefore a challenge to tell a teenage schoolgirl it’s okay to have sex but only with precautions.

Tan Chee Seng, a sex psychologist and counselor, said the government seems to be paying attention to sex education only in recent years, but what action has the government taken?

He said it seemed “invisible” to the people.

“The publicity and promotion of sex education is missing. It’s not there.

“The government going to schools to engage with students to publicise the subject is also not there.

“We don’t seem to see anything.”

Tan is also critical of what’s being taught.

“In primary school, they learn about the concept of sex in text books, and when they get to secondary school, all they learn about is their body parts.

“That’s all the syllabus is limited to. There’s nothing on how they should get along with the opposite sex, precautions and other etiquette.

“These are not included in the secondary school curriculum. This is the age when students are confronted with questions about relationships, but the problem is, they are just not ready for it.

“This is the time when teenagers are very curious about sex. Unfortunately what they had been taught was inadequate.

“They have consensual sex but since they are not taught about the importance of safe sex and taking precautions, they just hope and pray their girlfriends will not get pregnant,” Tan said.

Tan of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Society for Scientific Study of Sexuality said a complete syllabus should contain the following subjects – boy-girl relationships, personal values, rights of a person, the culture of a person, sexual violence, safety and security, health and well-being skills, the human body and reproductive health.

She said the subjects currently taught are sexual violence, safety and security, the human body and development.

“The others are not. What we can easily find in our sex education syllabus is not to have sex, something students find hard to swallow when they find it’s the natural thing to do between an adult girl and an adult boy.

She said without any knowledge on safe sex and contraception, unwanted pregnancies are likely to happen.

She said when she gives talks to students in their respective schools, the school authorities want to vet what she talks about and “filter” things they don’t like.

“When the teaching is incomplete, what the child learns is also incomplete, which is why, sex education is still being taught and people are still making mistakes.”

She said despite the conservative nature of Malaysians, mixed with religious and racial issues, having sex education could be considered a good start.

Tan said personally, apart from what is taught in schools, parents do have an important role to play in their children’s sex education.

“Only they can explain it better to their children and give them the objectivity to understand what sex education is.” –  September 3, 2023.