I am struck with horror at a recent headline detailing Selangor Menteri Besar's Mohd Khir Toyo's outburst at the results of the High-Risk Female Youth Profile Study conducted by a specialist from the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

This development is disturbing on several levels.

Firstly, Khir Toyo has no business ordering a research scientist to 'correct' the data simply because it is an inconvenient fact for his administration. If the data acquisition methods and the data itself are problematic, they need to be peer-reviewed by others with expertise and competence in the field, and not by an unqualified ex-dentist who is overseeing what is perceived to be one of the most corrupt state administrations in the country.

Secondly, if what Khir Toyo says is correct based on his 'investigation' - that the definition of sex in the survey was ambiguous - then it is very damaging to the competency of those involved in carrying out the survey.

One of the basic foundations of a psychology is that its experts should have competent skills in measuring human behaviour. There is no room for inflated and unnecessary ambiguity such as that described by Khir Toyo (assuming he is telling the truth).

The third and most damning indictment of the competency of those involved in carrying out the survey (without a reasonable doubt) is that they violated one of the basic tenets of human psychological research; ie, by not ensuring the strictest confidentiality with regards to the private, identifiable information of those who participated in the study.

Khir Toyo has proudly trumpeted the fact that his officials obtained the survey data, including personally identifiable information, and proceeded to make phone calls to a random selection of the study participants asking them if they indeed have had sex!

Those who conducted the survey are duty-bound by ethical codes of conduct of the profession to ensure utmost confidentiality and had no business handing over private data to Khir Toyo's goons to make phone calls with.