Following the latest disclosure of child sexual abuse figures, Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching has urged for sex education to be taught in preschools immediately.

She said sex cannot be treated as a taboo subject in order to protect children.

“Sex education has been implemented in many developed countries and we have a need to follow suit in order to prevent more tragedies like Richard Huckle and many more sexual abuse cases at home,” she said in a statement today.

Richard Huckle is a British national who had been sentenced to 23 life sentences by a UK court to be served concurrently, after pleading guilty to 71 counts of child sexual abuse.

He is believed to have abused up to 200 children, mainly from poor communities in Kuala Lumpur.

A parliamentary reply by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to Teo on Nov 9 stated that there had been no sexual complaints lodged against Huckle during his stay in Malaysia, and his activities only became publicly known after he had been arrested by the UK police.

Teo also pointed to reports quoting a Malacca Hospital gynaecologist yesterday saying that the hospital saw at least three cases of child sexual abuse each week, and the number rose during school holidays and festive seasons.

She added that an average of 18,000 teenagers in Malaysia sought medical attention at government clinics each year after becoming pregnant, which amounted to 50 cases each day.

“All these shocking statistics are proof that we need to conduct comprehensive sex education from preschools without any delay.

“I appreciate the efforts of the government to enact a bill on sexual crime against children, however prevention also plays an important role.

“Sex cannot be a taboo subject because children need to be protected,” she said.