TI-M president Muhammad Mohan said parents should devote more time to inculcate good moral and ethical values at home when their children are young and monitor their progress as they grow.

“As parents, we should not expect the school teachers or the universities alone to teach these values.

“More importantly, since moral values are ‘caught’ rather than ‘taught’, parents themselves need to be exemplary in upholding integrity and ethical standards especially when the children are at an impressionable age,” he said in a statement.

He highlighted the nexus between the perceived integrity crisis among youths and the basic moral and ethical value system in society. “Today we see that this value system among the youth is diminishing.”

Muhammad cited data by the Institute of Youth Research, which found that 16,566 youths aged 16 to 18 were involved and arrested in index crimes throughout Malaysia, including theft, murder, rape and armed robbery, from 2018 to 2022.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission also revealed statistics showing that civil servants in their 40s and below constituted 57.8% out of 5,652 people arrested between 2007 and 2022 for corruption-related offences.

“These statistics indicate that the decay of basic moral and ethical values among our youth is serious and, apparently, at least statistically, parents as well are not being the example of practising good moral and ethical values,” he said.

Last week, it was reported that two 13-year-olds died while performing wheelie stunts on motorcycles at the Jalan Elmina Business Park in Aman Putri, Sungai Pelong.

Sungai Buloh police chief Hafiz Nor said the 11.20pm incident saw the two motorcycles colliding head-on as the boys were moving in opposite directions.

He said there has been a drastic increase in illegal racing in Sungai Buloh this year, with 11 related deaths reported since January.