The move comes hot on the heels of a recent campaign to convince the community to say no to premarital sex, following worrying numbers of teen pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections (STIs).

In 2004, one-third of all teen abortions here involved Malay girls. Of all 600 teenagers infected with STIs, almost half were Malays. A total of 417 teenage Malay girls also gave birth that year, accounting for more than half of all teen births.

The recent campaign, launched in July, carried the message: "Say 'no' to premarital sex, it's sexier." The drive is now winding down, as the fasting month of Ramadan will begin next week.

Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday that despite earlier concerns of negative reactions from conservative segments of the community, response to the campaign was positive.

"We have not received any adverse reactions from the community ... they recognise that it is a problem," said Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.

The campaign, which started in July, saw the community engaged through various means including roadshows and radio talkshows; even taxi drivers were recruited to spread the message.

As this was the first sexuality campaign for the community ever launched, organisers have to be sensitive to conservative sentiments, he explained. More targeted approaches will be looked into in the future.

Malay self-help group Mendaki now plans to undertake an in-depth study on issues of teenage sexuality, to better understand the problem the community is facing.

Dr Yaacob noted that there could be other factors at play despite the high awareness. A community survey conducted raised a lack of religious knowledge, peer pressure and lack of love and attention as possible factors.

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