Protect Our Young Children, Teach Rape Prevention Lessons Now!
Press Statement on 6 August 2010
Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that his ministry in looking into making sex education a subject in school. While I take his words in good faith, I think the Education Ministry has taken far too long to study the issue without any concrete resolutions.
The current state of escalating sexual crimes including child rape cases warrant immediate attention. I believe that rape prevention lessons must be taught to school children including those in the kindergarten. And the seriousness of the issue demands the urgency of now, the Education Ministry cannot afford to idle in the so-called “study mode” but must act now.
Young children become easy targets of rapists because they were not taught about their body, sexuality and how to react to inappropriate advances and rape. Police statistics in 2009 revealed that every day, 10 women were raped, and half of the victims were children below 16 years of old.
The victims of the recent case involving taxi drivers and bus drivers shocked the nations when they revealed that they were raped repeatedly over a period of time. This happened partly because young children are ignorant of the crime and often they were threatened to keep silent.
While the Education Ministry and the Federal Government are still in “study mode”, several NGOs have taken the initiative to start educational programs. One such NGO is Women’s Centre for Change (WCC), Penang. Its “OK-Tak-Ok” program teaches children between 10-12 years old to differentiate between good and bad touch and what to do if they encounter bad touches.
I suggest that the Education Ministry work with these NGOs, especially by allocating funds to train teachers to conduct similar sessions in all schools and kindergartens. This itself will be a positive progress from the Government’s current idle “study mode”.
Our children are being raped and risked being raped by sexual criminal everyday; we cannot wait any longer for the Ministry to finish its study.
Chong Eng
Member of Parliament
Bukit Mertajam
Daftarlah Sebagai Rakan DAP! 
http://greenstate.penang.gov.my
As the local government in penang, can’t you start to influence schools to include these so called OK-Tak-OK kinda sessions into children’s co-curicular activities? You now have the opportunity to make Penang the safest states in Malaysia… if you do it well.
The solution is there… just not implemented due to the unpractical typical protocols and delays the federal government practises. Good that you are presuring the federal goverment. But you and I know that nothing will be implemented until they get ready all publicity materials and series of events to hype it up and show that they are doing good to the rakyat. When they do it… it’s about publicity to win votes… They will keep waiting until the right timing. Don’t fall into such category. If you think it’s right… Just Do It… the people can see.
I support good governance. And i will continue to do so.
Show us that you are.
Dear Steven Ng,
Thank you for your comment! Indeed there are things which we can do and there are things which we cannot do, as you have well pointed out.
For this, YB Chong Eng is currently in discussion with some local NGOs to expand the OK-TAK-OK lessons and rape prevention awareness throughout Penang. It’s still in early stage of discussion, meeting was held last Friday after the press statement was issued, but YB is very passionate about this and has acted on it. In fact, we have organized OK-TAK-OK in two areas in Bukit Mertajam this year where YB Chong Eng is member of Parliament using our own fundings.
Steven Sim
Special Assistant,
YB Chong Eng
Dear Steven,
I have high faith and confidence in DAP and the Pakatan Rakyat governance. Keep it up. Would like see Penang being the first strong and influencial states govern by non-BN party.
Regards,
Steven.