KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family, and Childhood Development targets to reduce the percentage of teenage pregnancy in the state by 10 per cent annually.
This was disclosed by its minister, Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah during the closing ceremony of ‘The Parenting Teenagers Course’ at Sarawak Club here on Wednesday night.
“Statistics shows that Sarawak has the second highest number of teenage pregnancies in the country with 2,130 cases recorded last year.
“However, there is a steady decrease compared to 2013 which recorded 4,078 teenage pregnancy cases.
“The awareness programmes and campaigns by the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are certainly producing some favourable results,” she said.
Touching on the course, Fatimah applauded the organisers for conducting it as it helps to strengthen the family institution in the state as well as to improve the participants’ parenting skills.
Meanwhile, the course organiser, Alpha Malaysia Sarawak regional co-ordinator, Dr Wong Howe Tung said the purpose of the course was for parents to learn how to bond better with their children.
“If we look at our teenagers as the source of problems, we will become stricter with them and that will cause more tension.
“But, if we look at them as victims, we know that they need help and we will try to understand the challenges and problems that they are facing.
“We as parents need to provide good communication whereby we have to listen to them and talk with them.
“We have to learn to love them both conditionally and effectively so that they know that they feel loved,” he said.
The course conducted both in English and Chinese attracted 120 participants.
