This article first appeared on FMT. Image above was sourced from FMT.

PETALING JAYA: A criminologist has called on the government to replace Moral Studies as a subject in schools with one on Human Social Behaviour as it would be better able to help tackle social ills among schoolchildren.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) associate professor P Sundramoorthy said the new subject would be more effective in dealing with incidences of cybersex, drug and alcohol abuse, poor health, bullying and gangsterism.

He said the move was among the recommendations from research done by USM several years ago on ways to curb social problems in schools and society.

He said the new subject, covering all aspects of behaviour, including psychological problems, should be taught to students as young as nine years and made a part of their continuing education until they completed Form 5.

Sex education was particularly an important topic, he said, as cybersex was common among school kids since pornographic sites were easily accessible to all, including the young.

“Many pornographic sites may be blocked by the government but there are so many alternative ways easily available for children.

“It’s just like how Facebook is blocked in China but many still have access to it,” he said.

“Many children aged 18 and below are left unsupervised and out of curiosity, for fun or out of habit, view porn,” he said.

“Those who get hooked become perverts and may try the acts on babies who can’t speak. Or on those around the age of five or six who do not know what is happening,” he told FMT.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had recently said punishments meted out to underage youngsters should be corrective rather than punitive.

The home minister had said having corrective education institutions such as the Henry Gurney School were among the effective measures in dealing with juvenile law offenders.

He was responding to reports that 159 children had been detained under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca) and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) in 2017.

Sundramoorthy said children needed to be aware of the causes of drug use and abuse, gangsterism, alcohol abuse and bullying.

He said they needed to know how to identify perverts and paedophiles through sex education.

He said they needed to be taught about the impact these issues would have on one’s life.

“Many children involved do not understand the consequences of their crimes on their life,” he said.