Instill religious education to curb corruption
SHAH ALAM - Religious education is an important element in educating children to hate and fight corruption from an early age.
Family Communication Consultant Bakhtiar Fitri Abdul Hamid said religion was the strongest barrier for people to stay away from things that were illegal and forbidden by Allah SWT.
"Whatever in this world, we have to go back to religion. Initially, parents must introduce the child to the word 'La Ilaha Illallah' and when this child wants to do anything he will remember Allah.
“That is why we want to educate children and talk about corruption, we need to know the child’s level of understanding on the matter.
“If they have been taught about the religion and the word 'La Ilaha Illallah', the children will have a stand for themselves,” he said in the Kompas Rasuah Busters programme entitled ‘Rumah Punca Rasuah Bermula’ on Wednesday.
He added nowadays children could watch stories or movies about corruption on the internet and when they watched these materials, they would know that such activities were illegal especially with religious education instilled by the parents.
He said the corruption that took place at home, among others, stemmed from parents who refused to make changes even though they knew they had made mistakes.
“In psychology, it is actually the parents who maintain the child's negative attitude. What children learn especially about the various elements of the onset of corruption in the home is from the actions of the parents themselves.
“For example, when the father makes a mistake, he tells the child to keep it silent from the mother and as a result the father will give money, sweets or ice cream to them and that is also a form of corruption.
“Many parents are aware of this but refuse to change,” he explained.
According to Bakhtiar, good example set by parents was a very important element in educating children to steer away from bad things.
“Actually, among the three important elements to educate children is first, there must be a good home environment and encouragement for children to do good.
"Second, there must be role models from parents and third, there must be educational modules," he said.
