Educate hearts and minds of youth

THE Sunday Star reports headlined “Monster youngsters” (Sept 24) rightly noted that youths resort to violence to solve their ongoing “problems” without fully understanding the consequences.

Previously, children would just taunt, shout and throw stones at each other but now their violent action could cause massive harm to others.

Experts strongly believe that the high level of aggression among Malaysian youths is, sadly, a reflection of the aggressive attitude of the adults in our society. Such children and teens lack positive adult role models either at home or in school.

The suggestion that the Education Ministry replace moral education classes or supplement them with a course in responsible social behaviour is a good one. Teaching them about crime prevention, anti-drug use, sex education, ethics and integrity, social issues, social etiquette and culture may help to alleviate social ills.

As the Dalai Lama put it: “When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” This will deal with the root of the problem; educating them to become responsible and adopt attitudes that will help them deal with problems peacefully. The saying “the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart” applies here.

SZE LOONG STEVE NGEOW

Kajang