Are Malaysians Ready for Comprehensive Sexuality Education?

Abstract

Majority of adolescents and young people do not receive adequate knowledge and uninformed about sexuality, making them vulnerable to abuses, sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy. We described current updates and views on the implementation of sexuality education in Malaysia through our review on seventy-nine articles published in local online newspapers supplemented with scholarly journals and documents from official government websites. Framework analysis was carried to describe the purpose, available current programs, challenges and suggested solutions for implementation of comprehensive sexuality education. Sexuality education has been implemented in Malaysia for almost a decade through disintegrated and compartmentalised approach. The subject aims at providing knowledge on sexuality and reproductive health, promoting abstinence and curbing what was perceived as moral transgressions such as premarital sex and its consequences. The success of sexuality education is hampered by misconception on the impact of sexuality education, disagreement on the curriculum, lack of availability of trained teachers or trainers, lack of family and parents’ involvement as well as poor multidisciplinary collaboration. Further enhancement requires all experts from various disciplines to sit together to harmonise the subject so that it is acceptable to religion and culture of multiracial society of Malaysians and aligned with human rights standards.