CONFIRMACIÓN DIAGNÓSTICA

Despite sharing their dreams and aspirations enthusiastically, only a few of the trainees

were willing to give their opinions on what they expected from the government and people around them. When asked his opinion on what the government should do to assist the youth to be successful, Mas said:

“The government can form a special school and pay them allowance for those who don’t have any clue on what to do”. He reiterated further “specifically for

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those who really have the interest (in skills) but do not have academic qualifications. They can be a test based on the skills acquired. This gives chance to people who want to change”.

Ali wanted to study again and at the same time to work and get some experience in the motor servicing area. When asked what he expected the government to do if he was given a chance to speak, Ali replied, “Give us a chance to work”. He also hoped that the government could provide jobs for people like him who did not do well in their studies. Similarly, Nazri, when asked about what the government could do for young people like him, replied, “If possible, the government gives a job… an opportunity to

work”.

Besides the youth expectations of the government, few suggestions from them are worth mentioning. Ady, who experienced problems with his own parents provides some clues to parents on acceptable ways to communicate, delegate and listen to their children. Ady’s views on good parenting could be traced through his reflections of his aunt’s family, whom he always confided in. Below are captions of Ady’s thoughts which clearly illustrate the point:

“They [aunt’s family] asked about my day and about what am I doing. The communication is good. Even though I did something wrong and when I tell them, they listened and didn’t condemn me and neither do they support me. They will advise me politely. That is why I often go to their house … that is what they did. Their good side is the way they interact with their children. I feel good. They treat me like a friend. They want to listen, sharing whatever activities they do. It doesn’t mean that the activities will be a problem.”

When asked what is not right? Ady elaborates as captions below:

“It’s their high handedness... They can give orders but the style must be acceptable. Usually, there are too many don’t and there is no good example to be followed. When I did something wrong I’d be scolded and not given a chance to explain. If I need to talk, I’d talked to my aunt. She knew how to console me when she saw me down. She said that if I had problems, not to keep it to myself. That is the only place that I can talk about my problems... It is not the same for everyone. I am more comfortable if I have someone with whom I can discuss, someone who can guide and show me the way. If they teach the right thing we can follow them.”

P a g e 124 | For Faizal who is married and has a child of his own, it is better to ask the youth to get married rather than wasting their time wandering aimlessly and going out until late at night with friends. Having a child had made him more settled and more responsible in his opinion. Meanwhile, ex-trainee Rudy suggested the government should organise more sports activities especially extreme sport which would encourage more youths to participate while Fadil thought that the CSO should provide more programmes that could make the youth repent, similar to the one he and his colleague had attended.

4.7

Summary

About a quarter of the trainees were married. They married at a young age and for most of them while still in high school. Except for one or two of the trainees, the rest of them came from a low socio-economic background. One of them received assistance under the hard-core poor programme. Their social and economic status can also be seen from their poor living condition. Most of them stayed in congested houses of two- bedrooms even for those who were married.

A few of the trainees were jobless with the majority of the youth working as manual or general workers in factories, construction and mechanical works and also food-related industries. This finding is in tandem with the pattern of employment of Malaysian youths (defined in this report as those aged between 15 and 39 years) which is the manufacturing sector (24%), followed by the wholesale and retail trade, restaurants (23.8%) and other services (18.9%). In addition, Malaysian youth were also involved in other sectors such as agriculture, forestry, livestock, and fishing (11.3%); construction, 9.0%; finance, insurance, real estate and business services, 7.4%; transport, storage and communications, 4.9% ; electricity, gas and water, 0.4% and lastly, mining and quarrying, 0.3% (Yunus, 2007).

The findings also showed that the trainees were willing to make amends for past mistakes in their lives and turn over a new leaf. They also wanted to have a happy family life of their own or do a good turn for parents whom they looked up to. They did not blame their predicaments on the parents’ and their upbringing.

P a g e 125 | The willingness of some of the trainees to share their views and opinions on what they expected from the government and people around them also implies that CSO could be an avenue for the trainees to reflect or get outside help beyond their own family. However, the ability of the trainees to share relies largely with the attitude of the supervisor with whom they confide. In some cases the attitude and approach of some of the officers were not congruent with their roles. The trainee–supervisor relationship will

be discussed further in Chapters 6 and 7.

The following chapter will discuss the history and types of criminal offence committed by the trainees that led to their CSO sentencing; how the trainees perceived their offending and consequently the impact of the offending and sentences on the lives of the trainees.

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CHAPTER FIVE: THE CRIMINAL HISTORY OF THE

TRAINEES AND HOW THEY JUSTIFIED THEIR ACTIONS

5.1

Introduction

To recapitulate, one of the objectives of this study is to explore the backgrounds of the

trainees subject to a CSO which includes their offending history. Their background is useful in understanding the circumstances that lead to their offending behaviours, the nature of the offences, their own justification and their remorse on reflections. This chapter presents the findings on the criminal history of both the current CSO and the ex- CSO trainees based on the supervision files kept by the department office at the CSO unit and also from the interviews with them. These details will be discussed in two parts. The first part describes the types of crimes committed while the second part will explore how the trainees perceived and justified their actions and the circumstances in which the offences were committed.

5.2

Criminal History and Type of Offences Committed By the