There are no immediate plans to introduce sex education in schools as there are other programmes to check the spread of HIV-related diseases and teenage pregnancies.

Parliamentary secretary for the Education Ministry Mahadzir Mohd Khir said this today in reply to a question posed by Mah Siew Keong (BN - Teluk Intan) in Parliament today.

"The ministry distributes leaflets relating to sex-related diseases and sponsors other informative programmes with the assistance of NGOs such as the Malaysian AIDs Council," he said.

Speaking to reporters later at the parliament lobby, Mahadzir said that there were difficulties in introducing sex education in schools as some parties might misinterpret the government's intention.

"We want to spread awareness on how to prevent the spread of sex-related diseases such as AIDs but not to encourage pre-marital sexual relations," he said.

He said the government, however, has not ruled out the possibility of introducing sex education in the future.

Mahadzir said the number of sexual misdemeanour cases involving juveniles in the country was low and the problem, under control. There were 12 reported cases this year, some involving primary school students.

The students involved in these misdemeanours may have other problems, therefore counselling rather than a reprimand was the better solution, he said.