MALAYSIA

Youthful follies

The grievous thing is that everyone saw this coming.
This country has been nothing, if not concerned, for the welfare of its youth, and for years has closely observed in ever-increasing alarm the spread of juvenile delinquency in the schools, streets and shopping malls of the nation. Today’s average of seven juvenile arrests a day even compares favourably with the dozen a day a decade ago, or the average 14 daily cases recorded over 2003-4. The police know the numbers — so far this year, they have arrested more than a thousand under-18 criminals — and routinely appeal to parents, guardians and teachers to take better care of their children.

The Government promotes one youth-oriented programme after another, from Rakan Muda to National Service; political parties work on their puteris and puteras; the Education Ministry literally tears itself in two to accommodate the national priority of education; the Youth and Sports, and Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministries attend to youth, and Family Development is specifically mandated to watch over them.
Yet, the rise in juvenile delinquency remains perdurably ahead of the population growth curve. The police turn to teachers; teachers turn to parents; parents turn to see their teenagers missing somewhere out there stealing cars. Everything about these data is sobering. Not only are the numbers of offenders fearsomely high, their crimes are scary. From extortion, gangsterism and criminal intimidation to burglary, auto theft, drug trafficking and murder, they remind us of wayward youth’s devilish capacity for wickedness and violence.
It would be unfair to dismiss as futile the efforts to cure this disease. But the problem is chronic; more to be controlled than cured. The ruling parties must continue addressing the glaring demographics of this overwhelmingly male and 84-per-cent-Malay problem. The experts must continue examining root causes: peer pressure, family breakdown, youth alienation. And there should be no let-up in society’s chorus of opprobrium against juvenile delinquency. Inevitably, however, the bulk of this responsibility must continue to be borne by parents, families and teachers, backed by serried ranks of counsellors, child psychologists and the police. An especially stern fate must await those evil Fagins who cultivate child criminals to flout the death penalty for drug trafficking, for instance.

But compassion comes easily when looking into the sullen, frightened face of a teenager in a lock-up.
The fact is, young people learn fast. The success rate in juvenile rehabilitation in this country is about 75 per cent, as testified by the generally well-mannered and repentant residents of the country’s juvenile correctional facilities. None is under any illusion that re-entry to society will be easy; many have lost even what little family support they had before getting into trouble.
Given the care and attention they lacked when falling off the rails, however, most problem children are not beyond redemption.

Editorial
3 August 2005

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Columns/20050803075913/Article/indexb_html/

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