"Reality bites and doesn't let go"

I was debating with myself whether to update this space with our recent trip to Kota Tinggi Resort or to write something about budaya membaca, until I saw this news on my Facebook page, posted by Sis Munirah:

Baby at 13! Cue jerit ramai-ramai sambil angkat tangan a la Janice, “Ooooh my God!” At 13, he’s merely a child! Oh my, a child having a child.

Get this: He is 13. She is 15. They are still in school. They are not married. The boy is living on allowance from his parents. The girl’s father is unemployed and her big family of 7 has been living on government’s benefits. Work the probable equation, people.

Alfie told The Sun, “I didn’t know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it.” Oh how very sweet, but excruciatingly naïve as well! My oh my, perasaan saya sungguh bercampur-baur.

And get this: Schools in Britain have been conducting (hugely expensive) sex education programs! Yet? What went wrong? Oleh itu, perlukah sex education program diperkenalkan di Malaysia? This has been an ongoing debate for so long, tahap merimaskan. Abstinence; adakah ia perlu dididik? Atau cukup dengan didikan agama? Entahlah, IMHO, kalau didikan agama sudah cukup, tak perlulah didikan seumpama itu lagi. Masalahnya, banyak keluarga yang kurang tegas dalam didikan agama lalu sekolah perlu mainkan peranan untuk mendidik. Sukar betul jadi pemimpin, perlu buat all such crappy decisions. Thank God I’m just a commoner with a common job.

Anyways, I like what The Sun columnist, Jane Moore has to say about this: “12 years old boys should be playing football and videogames – not having sex and playing dad.” So true! Rewind sikit 14 tahun yang lalu (darn, saya sungguh tua!), at 13, I couldn’t care less about boys! Perhaps this is due to the fact that I went to an all-girls-boarding school but even so, at 13, boys were the last things on my mind. The only boy I cared about at 13 was Robbie Williams, but that’s understandable, kan? Ngeee.

Akhir kata, I wish Alfie and Chantelle all the luck in the world. I have the feeling that they’re gonna need it.