Moral issues still plague teenagers

AS A nation that strongly holds to the principles of Malay Muslim Monarchy (MIB), Brunei still faces major social issues among its youth.

"Nowadays we often hear a young Bruneian proudly saying he or she is Malay but they consume copious amount of alcohol ... they mention that they profess Islam and yet they do not practise it," said Hjh Siti Aynah Hj Mohd Yaakub, a counselling officer at the Ministry of Youth Culture and Sports.

Aynah emphasised the weakening grasp of religion amongst the next generation has become a cause for the rise in social issues.

She strongly underlines that it is difficult to pinpoint the root of moral failure because a lot of factors has to be accounted for such as family structure, the role of parents, friends and external influences such as the Internet.

"Moral issues could also be caused by the glamorous lifestyle that a youth chooses to be part of, or maybe the family's financial problems that drives a youngster to find comfort elsewhere. The causes could also be as simple as not receiving enough attention or love and not enough monitoring," said Aynah who deals with mostly troubled youths under 18 years of age.

The examples of social issues that are plaguing the lives of the next generation of Bruneian Malays include illegal drugs consumption, underage drinking, pre-marital sex and baby-dumping. In the world of today, lack of parental attention and monitoring can cause a young life to be destroyed in a matter of a few mouse clicks.

"I handled a rape case of a 16-year-old girl who could not express her feelings towards her parents. She naively expressed her feelings by chatting with random people on the Internet. Her naivety was caught by an older male. After a month or two of chatting, the man decided to meet up, and it was downhill from there," she said.

Meetings were arranged during school hours whereby she would "escape" classes to avoid her parents finding out of her whereabouts. "The relationship got closer and closer each time they met. They kept on meeting until she was talked into engaging in sexual intercourse," she said.

Cases of these nature do not necessarily happen to broken families but could also happen to members of a normal-structured family where implications can also come from the type of friends that they hang around with.

"Sometimes the very root of the problem is that the parents simply do not give enough attention to their children thus forcing them to turn to their friends for comfort," she said.

Most teenagers are trying to find an identity to fit in, when communication is not open with their parents and they tend to live a double life which could curtail unwanted consequences. "Because some feel oppressed they would protest. I know of some cases where teenagers would sneak out of the house when the parents are asleep and then come home by dawn," she said.

Aynah is alarmed at some nature of cases that surfaced. "I handled a girl who was given as a 'prize' to winners of illegal racing competitions. She was a beautiful girl. When I manage a case like this, I get angry at what has happened to the values our youth today adhere to, both for the girls and boys," she said.

The results of rampant pre-marital sex can already be seen such as baby dumping cases and young marriages due to unwanted pregnancies. "A recent case was a girl then aged 14 who was pregnant by a 17-year-old male. They got married. By the time the male was 21 years old, he lost interest in his young wife and starts bringing other girls to their home. This then lead to marital violence and then followed by a divorce. It is always the children who suffer," she said.

"There are a number of cases of unwanted pregnancies. According to Brunei law, underaged girls giving birth to illegitimate children would not be allowed to go back to school. This is a sad thing because what would they do then," she added.

"When we organise lectures to spread awareness, we want to look for volunteers who are "cool" with successful careers as well as a healthy mind. We want these kids to listen to us, they are our future," she said. Aynah concluded that a concerted effort is required to save our next generation.

"Parents and youth must remember our concept of MIB. Together we can achieve the goals of MIB."

The Brunei Times