PETALING JAYA: Youngsters, especially the lonely ones and victims of bullies will be tempted to turn to the wrong crowd if they feel they cannot get support from their parents and teachers.

“They will be lured to join gangs thinking it is their ticket out of their problems.
“Peer pressure and a false sense of power are the main factors that drive them to be part of these gangs,” said National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Hashim Adnan.

He advised teachers and parents to be more understanding and accepting when children confide in them.

“Scolding and negative remarks would only drive them towards negative activities, including gangsterism,” he added.

Hashim was responding to The Star's report on Tuesday that underworld gangs were utilising social networking sites like Facebook to recruit new members, including secondary school students.

The gangs even organised events like illegal races and gang fights via these websites.

They would offer protection to anyone who joined the gang and some even tried to entice students to join by offering booze. It is said that students from most major towns in the country are being targeted by the gangs.

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-president Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye called the act of gangsters using sites like Facebook to recruit members as a clear abuse of modern-age technology.

He urged the relevant authorities including the Malaysian Com-munications and Multimedia Commission to track the perpetrators behind the pages luring young students to join them in illegal activities.

“The public, including teachers and parents need to reinforce moral and noble values in children to enable them to differentiate between right and wrong,” said Lee