Sex parties : Where are we heading?

Educate to arrest declining morals

It was appalling to read of the planned mega sex party to usher in the New Year. We wonder what has gone wrong with our younger generation who yearn for such immoral behavior that we often condemned as a culture of the West. Indulging in immoral activities is nothing new as they have been going on since the existence of man but by enlarge they have been on the quiet as such activities were abhorred by society. It is shocking that now such activities are being commercialized and organized openly with little respect to our own cultural restraints.

While we have been condemning the West we failed to realize that such immoral activities have been slowly taking roots in our own society. We continued to be in a state of denial that such activities are alien to our own Asian cultures. Even now we say that this mega sex party planned is a hoax which well may be but it should be an alarm that indicates that morality among Malaysians is definitely on the decline and it is time for us to see where we have gone wrong.

The two institutions that are vital in instilling good moral values are the family and the school. The declining morality among our youth is an indication that both these institutions are failing.

It is not surprising that with the rising divorce and separation of parents, the family unit is severe strain. The integrity of the family unit, which was once a pride of our culture, is slowly but surely breaking down. With parents separated and divorced and bitter with each other how can good morals be instilled in their children?

The influence of the West is undoubtedly a contributing factor but we too should take the blame, as we had not actively strived to strengthen our own system which placed great emphasis on families ties, respect for the elders, sanctity of marriage and care of children.

Sadly we have allowed the culture of greed and selfishness to become the guiding principles for success and happiness. In the pursuit of wealth and more wealth, we traded in the established moral values that were the hallmark of our cultures. Today we are judged by the amount of wealth we have not by the virtues we possess. The media glorifies and idolizes the rich and glamorous, never mind if they are living immoral lives. It is sad that these idols have become the role models for our youth.

In the pretext of promoting individual freedom, many are breaching the norms of morality. Individual freedom may be important but it should be within limits. Absolute individual freedom without regards for morally and socially accepted behavior should be aggressively resisted.

There is a need to re-emphasize the importance of the family unit. Every effort must be made to educate parents on inculcating good morals in the children by their own examples. It is a responsibility that is too important to be abdicated to others.

Of late the indiscipline and immorality among school children are also on the rise. As parents we can see that the level of discipline among our children is definitely not at par to that when we students once. Teachers today are too busy with unnecessary activities that they are not able to give full attention to their pupils. The quality of teachers too has deteriorated as many take up the job as a means of income when it should have been a vocation.

Ideally schools should be places where our children get a wholesome education, where apart from academic excellence, good morals and character building are also given paramount importance. Unfortunately politicization, commercialization and privatization have all adversely affected the education system where our schools have become places to merely secure maximum As.

Of late Malaysians of all faiths may have become more religious but are we becoming morally more righteous? It is sad that we have become more attracted to the rituals of our faith rather than their essence that propagate good moral behavior as the basis of all human activities. Will enforcing strict religious fundamentals help improve morality among the young? Extremism in any forms either religious or freedom to do whatever one likes will not be the right way. What we need to do is to choose a path of moderation that will be attractive to the youth.

Outright banning of immoral activities and punishing those indulging in them may not be able to totally deter our youth from staying away from such vice. What is a needed is to educate them on the importance of good and decent behavior at all times. At the same time no effort must be spared to educate and emphasize on the importance of maintaining the integrity family unit, which is extremely vital in upholding morality.


Dr.Chris Anthony