Of teens, tempt, tent... and Melaka

1. What goes around comes around. That is what this posting is all about. No pun intended.
2. What is your first reaction reading Malay Mail's "Special school for pregnant teens in Jasin" ? Another brilliant idea from "disqualified UMNO deputy President candidate" Mohd Ali Rustam.
   In part, Ali Rustam outlined that :-
   • Special school for students who became pregnant out of wedlock would be open in Jasin, Melaka;
   • The school will be under the administration of Melaka State Islamic Religious Department (JAIM) for those who voluntarily chose to enter the school;
   • For poor families, the state will assist by giving RM 500 for solemnisation of marriage, feast, witness with the dowry can even be paid later;
   • This is the state's approach in dealing with the issue of young unwed mothers who would find it difficult to be accepted by the mainstream society;
   • Melaka recorded 900 cases of co-habitation with 391 out-of-wedlock births in 2009 with 174 out-of-wedlock births for the first 6 months in 2010;
     

3. Scary, isn't it? JPN recorded more than 250000 out-of wedlock births between 2000 to 2008. Statistics don't lie although they can be manipulated to suit the needs of interested parties.
   
4. Ali Rustam did not elaborate whether the school will be open to those from other states or not. He too did not mention whether the school will be open to non-Muslims or not. Maybe he will do that in due time.
5. Mention Melaka and mention teenagers, one can never escape the memories of yesteryears. The first that flashed by is about a certain "macho" man from Melaka who is said to impregnate a 15-year old girl years ago.
   Is there any connection between Ali Rustam's idea of school for pregnant teenagers with this "macho" man?
6. Is Ali hinting something here? Afterall, it is also believed that this "macho" man is somehow or rather linked to co-prime minister.
   But as they say it, blogs are another source of unconfirmed news and rumours. So let us leave it at that... is Ali hinting that he may be making another comeback in the next UMNO election?
   
7. The only recorded information is about how Lim GE spent part of his life in prison for voicing out the statutory rape case related to the "macho" man. That is the truth, something that will forever be recorded in the annals of Malaysian history.
8. Actually the statistics are staggering. For those who watched TV9's Halaqah, they may realise that the moderator mentioned it time and time again "What goes around comes around".
   "Macho" man did it in Melaka and now Melaka is facing the issue of 565 out-of-wedlock births between 2009 and the first 6 months of 2010. A complete cycle? They used to say that a leader is like a father to his charge, is this a reminder of what happened in the past? Something that we have to face now?
   
9. Teenagers are overly-expose with numerous entertainment and social influence. TV shows like AF, One-in-a-million, So you think you can dance, Jom heboh, Merdekarama and what not has become part and parcel of their life. Along the same line, motivational talks are far in between thus pushing the teens further and further away from mainstream society.
10. Temptation? It comes plenty. Heard about how teenagers are tempted by electronic gadgets? Or about being seen wearing the latest fashion? Or just being "in" the group? Temptations without a steady source of income push some of these teenagers to do things that they may regret later. Some did it out of their naievity...
    
11. Whatever it is, Ali Rustam's idea of providing special schools for pregnant teenagers is something worth exploring :-
    • What is the school's capacity?;
    • How do the state protect the students' identities?;
    • Will this school house the "father to be" too?;
    • What about the Islamic enactment which states that the minimum age for marriage for male is 18 and 16 for female?;
    • What about federal policies? Is Ali Rustam's idea in line with the policies?;
      
    • Will they be provided hostels and counselling? What type of counselling will be provided?;
    • Will they be provided with training?
      
    • Who will take care of the babies? Will they be surrendered to the social workers for adoption or will the mothers be given the chance to take care of the babies?;
    • How can the state assure that these pregnant teenagers will not be exploited or sex-ploited?;
    • How long will these teenagers placed in this school? After that, where to?;
      

12. It is not easy to address this sensitive issue. However this person has one thing to request from Ali Rustam - by all means, please do not place the "macho" man as the school's principal. We don't want "pisang berbuah dua kali", do we?
    

Till then...G'nite M'sia...wherever u are...