I refer to the letter Sex survey: Selangor MB misquoted which is in response to my earlier letter Teen sex: Time for Khir Toyo to confront reality .

It is gratifying to see that the spirit of sacrifice is very much alive whereupon a think-tank, Institut Perkembangan Minda (InMind), appears to take the blame or at least taking responsibility for being the source for an alleged misinterpretation of the Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo recent comments on the issue of teenage sex.

Though I am grateful to Norizan Sharif's clarification of what the MB said or did not say, I find his response strange in its content and disappointing in addressing fundamental issues raised in my letter.

In defending the MB, the writer stated very clearly that Mohd Khir had been misquoted and that there were factual errors in the report. The strangest thing is that these articles, supposedly misquoting the MB, are displayed on the menteri besar's website with the English version actually having the tabloid's article.

If they were factually wrong and had misrepresented the MB as claimed by Norizan, why on earth would they be so prominently displayed on the MB's website in the first place? The MB's office may not even have considered or treated this article as a misquotation nor a misrepresentation of what was said in last week's press conference.

It also seems strange that information obtained by the media from Norizan during the press conference could be attributed incorrectly or, to use the convenient term, become a 'misquote' of the menteri besar. For several newspapers and our national wire service, to all get it wrong (or 'misquoting') all at the same time is a little tough, I think. Is this another case of somebody else taking the blame and conducting damage control for what one of our politicians said or assumed?

In addition to that, though Norizan stated that the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) study was requested and commissioned by InMind, the fact is that this study is being used to develop a programme module for youths titled 'Bina Insan' which is supported and financed by the Selangor state government as stated in InMind's own press release on its website .

It is also unfortunate that the writer did not deign to address the fundamental issues of gender bias in the development of social policy and the need to address the reality of sexual activity and vulnerability among young people.

The inability of InMind itself to accept the reality of the research is clearly reflected in the press release available on its website. By stating and treating interpretations of the UKM study results as tantamount to slander ('fitnah'), InMind has failed to maintain objectivity and implies its failure to maintain the confidentiality of the research respondents.

I maintain that it is not impossible for school students to be involved in sex, stealing, gambling or secret societies without their parents having any idea of what's going on in their children's lives. To all parents out there, put your hands up if you've asked your son or daughter lately whether they have had sex (a few brave hands raised, I'm sure), have stolen, gambled or got involved in secret societies. What your parents don't ask, you won't have to lie about.

I certainly welcome the invitation from Norizan for me to have a look at the data and discuss the research with him.