Insensitive
Technorati tags: PAS, Religion, Islam, Statutory Rape, Insensitivity
That's Walski politest reaction to this PAS personality using the recent example of the 16-year old schoolgirl (who gave birth in school), to defend the UKM's slanted report on teen sexuality. Politics, at the expense of anything, and everything.
(click on image for full report, or PDF version here)
Nevermind that the stepfather of the girl in question has subsequently been remanded to "asist in investigations" (the word arrested was used, incidentally). And we all know what that usually indicates.
A partial translation of the Harakah article (emphasis by myAsylum):
The occurrence of a form four student giving birth in the sick bay of a school in Manjung District proves that the study done by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) relating to the phenomenon of free sex among students is true.
This also, in effect, negates the allegations of Selangor Chief Minister, Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo, who considered the report to be 'rubbish'.
This was the assertion made by Perak PAS Youth Assembly Chief, Ustaz Nur Azli Musa, when commenting on the incident of the girl giving birth in school, as reported by a mainstream newspaper recently.
What if it was the stepfather who was responsible for the girl's pregnancy? Is this, in the eyes of PAS, proof that she was a lascivious tramp? Interestingly (but not surprising to Walski), one of the reader responses (see full Harakah report) suggested that sex education in schools should be stopped, and instead replaced with more religion.
And why PAS' vocal support for the UKM report?
This, coupled with Walski's recent posting about the overzealous UKM lecturer, plus the UKM report itself raises this question: is UKM evolving to become PAS' proxy ideology training ground?
(more thoughts in the full post)
Sure, everyone has a right to their own political convictions - that's not the point here, and Walski is not saying that any faculty member in any institution must only prescribe to what the Government says is the status quo when it comes to political affiliation.
But a line must be drawn when certain faculty members use their position to impose certain political or even religious viewpoints, which have nothing whatsoever to do with their role in the institution of learning. Imposing one's own personal moral values onto students is not part of any university curriculum, as far as Walski knows. Or at least, it shouldn't be. And you wonder why our public universities are up the creek with a broken paddle... nay, no paddle at all?
If you understand Bahasa Malaysia, and take the trouble to read the full article, check out the reader's comments also. One of them implicitly blames sex education, and calls for its removal from the school curriculum. Another lambasts women's rights movements... And even one calling for a boycott of Yasmin Ahmad's Mukhsin, on the grounds that it "promotes vice among school kids" (translated from: mengalakkan maksiat di kalangan budak sekolah). Whether or not this person has actually seen the film is anyone's guess.
Make no mistake - there are many Malaysians who subscribe to the belief that repression, moral policing, and banning everything they find unsavory, is the way forward towards creating a more civil society. No prize for guessing whose politics they support..
Yes, let's stop whatever little sex education (which is a sham to begin with, but probably better than nothing) there is in school. Yes, let's deny school kids the knowledge that being touched in a certain way is inappropriate, regardless of whether it's one's parents, uncles/aunts, siblings... after all, isn't obeying your elders a good religious value?
Walski supposes that the correct moral position then is to allow school kids to be ignorant about sex, ignorant of what actually constitutes sex, ignorant of the hazards of unprotected sex (because, like it or not, nothwithstanding sex education, or lack thereof, they're likely going to discover it), ignorant of the liabilities associated with sex. Open sales of condoms? Verbotten! It promotes sexual activity.
And what of the lascivious, irresponsible, and predetorial elders? Why didn't the Harakah news report quote Ustaz Nur Azli Musa lambasting them? Could it be that he didn't bother to mention anything about that, or the thought never crossed his mind? Incest - it's the step-daughter's fault - yeah, sure, what else could it be?
Add one more line item to the growing list of reasons Walski will never vote for PAS...
