Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister said such articles were a
breach of the provisions of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984
(Amendment) 1987.
In his written reply in Parliament recently, Abdullah said the publication of
such materials including those focusing excessively on women's beauty was a
breach of the above act and action would be taken against media publishers for
carrying such articles, question-and-answer columns and advertisements focusing
on sex.
He added that although the government practised a liberal policy towards media
practitioners, especially the print media to determine the direction of their
magazines or newspapers, all approved publications could not publish such
materials.
The act said Abdullah states that all approved publications were bound not to
publish materials that jeopardised or might jeopardise public order, morality,
security and public and national interest as well as that which might disturb
the thinking of the public and be contrary to the law.
Abdullah's way of holding the already 'subjugated' media establishments at
ransom through this act is not going to in any way help improve the already
ailing situation.
It is imperative that the prime minister takes the trouble to explain why he
made this decision, and what were the influencing factors. Merely issuing an
order and that too concerning a senstitive and subjective issue like sex is no
reflection of democracy at work in Malaysia. Nor does it reflect the preaching
of Islam Hadhari of a just and trustworthy government.
Assist the public
If the humble prime minister's decision is mooted by the fact that more and
more youngsters are engaging in sexual acts, merely imposing such a ruling on
the print media might not solve the problem at hand. Abdullah would already
know that newspapers and magazines aside, there are other avenues for
youngsters to obtain information pertaining to sex.
However, Abdullah failed to justify the reason behind his decision. When it
comes to 'sex focused' materials, the print media, especially the mainstream
newspapers do not feature explicit 'sex focused' pictures or articles. If
Abdullah is any way hinting at the Norita Samsudin murder trial where the local
newspapers reported details of her bedroom adventures for all and sundry to
read, then that issue needs to be tackled separately.
It is time that the government stops harassing media operators via the various
acts in place, be they the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Sedition Act,
Internal Security Act or Official Secrets Act.
Perhaps Abdullah could assist by informing the public of other avenues (like
clinics) where they could seek help on matters related to their sexual life and
that too without paying consultation fee? The Q&A columns tackling issues
on sex serve to clarify sexual health matters. They certainly do not encourage
those writing in to undertake sexual escapades.
Often times one a many worries concerning sexual health have been solved thanks
to such Q&As available in newspapers and magazines. Would the prime
minister rather the public enquire information through a 'trial and error'
approach and in the process pay dearly health-wise?
Far too often, the phrase 'sex focused' has been misused and mistreated, giving
the impression that it is also about pornography. The government's very own
understanding of this issue needs correction for equating 'sex focused' with
the actual act of sex is never the same. The former may touch on issues
pertaining to sex or one's biological orientation while the latter denotes
sexual activity. The government must be clear in what objective it is trying to
achieve through this ruling.
Clarity needed
Should Abdullah stand firm in his decision to bar the print media from
highlighting 'sex focused' articles. He owes this industry an explanation on
what he meant by 'sex focused'. Is he trying to say that the word 'sex' must
never feature in the articles? Or is he trying to imply that articles should
make no reference to sexual acts per se?
Could the prime minister please clarify? It is crucial that he does so because
not doing so would be akin to the headache that came about in the case of
implementing sex education in schools. The government's inability to decide on
how to address this form of education put schools, teachers and students in a
quandary. The refusal to simply address it as 'sex education' saw 10 years
being wasted before the government once again deciding to relook the need to
educate pupils on 'sex' matters.
Now, we have a situation again where anything to do with sex is deemed taboo.
Malaysia's reluctance to deal with any issue pertaining to sex might only end
up making it a laughing stock among other nations.
In a recent poll by Reader's Digest, it was revealed that Malaysian parents are
the coolest in Asia as long as they do not touch on the issue of sex. Although
the survey deemed Malaysian parents as hardworking, when it came to sex
education, Malaysian parents failed miserably, landing at the bottom of the
pile. The survey concluded that it is against the culture in Malaysia for
parents to sit and discuss sex with their children.
The above survey saw Malaysian teenagers between 14 and 18 voting their parents
into third place out of the eight countries surveyed by Reader's Digest on the
"cool factor". Malaysia was behind Thailand and Indonesia, beating Hong Kong,
South Korea, Singapore, Philippines and Taiwan.
Last month (June), Datuk Dr Raj Karim, the Southeast director for the
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) told reporters that sex
education was still lagging and ineffective in Malaysia. She urged the
Education Ministry to review the existing sex education in schools. Raj said
teachers not only did not have the modules but were to shy to discuss the
subject with the students.
It really is a dilemma faced by the Malaysian youngsters. On one hand they have
parents who are not comfortable discussing sex with them while on the other
hand they have teachers who are shy to discuss sex education with students.
Now, where does this leave our curious youngsters to seek information? To an
extent, it would the 'Dear Thelma' or 'Big Bro' columns found in the main
newspapers. If these columns too are no longer accessible to the public, that
leaves many with the cyber option i.e. the Internet. And there is no saying
just how much of information obtained over the Internet on sex is going to be
free from harm.
Prime Minister Abdullah must not decide in haste. He has to weight the pros and
cons of doing so and the consequences of such a move. As painful as reality may
be, it has to be accepted that our youngsters are no longer naive about sex and
sourcing out information pertaining to it one way or another.
Truth is out there
The Durex Global Sex Survey 2004 revealed that 35 per cent of Malaysians
admitted to having unprotected sex without knowing their partner's sexual
history. The survey also showed that one in three young Malaysians admitted to
having unprotected sex with a new partner in a period of 12 months.
The survey pointed out that 30 per cent of Malaysians said they had not
received any formal sex education and believe it was the government's
responsibility to educate the public. Malaysians also believed that magazines
are the best source for sex education.
A similar survey in 2003 meanwhile found that one in four Malaysians was ready
to have sex with a new partner on the first night or within the first week. The
2003 survey further disclosed that 47 per cent of Malaysians said they would
consent to sex with their partner even if the latter refused to use a condom.
With all this revelations staring in our face, how does Abdullah hope to
correct the situation? By closing all access to information to the masses? Is
he going to feign ignorance that the truth is out there?
While we can understand the prime minister's worry, he has to translate his
concerns clearly and not leave it to the public to make their own
interpretation of his orders, for that might end up bringing more harm than
good.
One thing that Abdullah needs to keep in mind is that in today's cyber world,
no information is difficult to obtain and no 'barrier' tough to transcend.
