Five born to unwed teenage girls every day
Fortify efforts to strengthen family institution, says Wan Azizah
THE DPM says 1,664 such births involving girls under 18 years old were registered from January to June. Also ringing alarm bells is the fact that 35.5 per cent of individuals between the ages of 13 and 24 are exposed to pornography.
EVERY DAY for the past six months, five babies were born out of wedlock to mothers aged below 18 (1,664 births from January to June).
If combined with last year’s statistics, there were 6,656 such births involving minors.
And, quoting the National Registration Department (NRD), Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said 120 babies were “dumped” last year.
“Last year, the NRD recorded 4,992 illegitimate children conceived by mothers below the age of 18,” she said, adding that the worrying figure was indicative enough for efforts to strengthen the family institution to prevent the young from falling prey to such circumstances.
Dr Wan Azizah said the previous government had taken initiatives to uphold family values and address social issues with the introduction of the National Family Policy in 2010.
She said the government, through the Community, Family, and Women Development Ministry, had been moving to tackle pornography.
“The lack of faith and knowledge can lead to pornography addiction. The issue of broken families has also become a concern as it is with incest, domestic violence, pre-marital sex and watching porn,” said Dr Wan Azizah at the launch of the “Stop Pornography” seminar at the Teachers’ Education Institute’s Kent Campus here yesterday.
She said a campaign on proper use of electronic gadgets and ensuring families were “cyber smart” should be expanded to prevent children from being exposed to pornography.
She said such campaigns could be carried out in collaboration with non-governmental organisations to encourage safe use of electronic gadgets.
“Based on the 5th Malaysian Population and Family study, 35.5 per cent of individuals between the ages of 13 and 24 are exposed to pornography.
“Of the figure, 60.8 per cent obtain it through the Internet, 45 per cent through smartphones, and 20 per cent through CDs or DVDs.
“A programme (campaign) like this should involve the cooperation of various parties in ensuring the future wellbeing of families in Malaysia,” she said.
Present were Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew and state Assistant Finance Minister Kenny Chua.