SRI AMAN: Lingga assemblywoman Simoi Peri said more and more youngsters nowadays have social problems because they don’t have spiritual strength to fight off sinful tendencies.

She said many youngsters today are more inclined to follow the lifestyles of wayward celebrities instead of learning religious values.

With regards to Muslim youths, she said they must not only be encouraged to read and recite the al-Quran but also practise the values learnt from the book in order to refrain from immoral activities.

“The free mingling of young men and women, consumption of alcohol and juvenile crimes all give a gloomy picture of what the future is like if the social rot among the young is not dealt with.

“The solution is to give religious education to our children and imbibe them with values from the al-Quran so that they have the ‘barrier’ that makes them stronger in their will in fighting off the bad influence and elements,” she said.

Simoi mentioned this at the closing of the 35th Sri Aman-level Tilawah Al-Quran programme for schools at SK Sri Aman hall on Sunday.

Apart from the recital of al-Quran, speech competition and religious quiz were the supplementary competitions held simultaneously with the event.

Meanwhile, Simoi also officiated at the Academic Incentive Presentation and Motivational Seminar organised by the Lingga division of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) at Meludam Mosque near Betong last weekend.

A total of 65 students who achieved excellent results in last year’s Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) received incentive awards from Simoi.

A motivational speaker Dr Shafie Lugom was invited to the seminar which was attended by about 300 people from around Meludam and Lingga.