Concern over increase in drug abuse
KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 26,000 new drugs users were detected according to the National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA) statistics last year, said Senator Datuk Yong Wui Chung.
Of the number, he said, 80 percent were young people in the 13 to 40 years old age group.
Yong, who is Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary general, said that the country had yet to address the issue of drug abuse effectively.
He said more than 470,000 drug addicts were recorded from the year 1988 to 2017, which caused huge losses in terms of the financial and productivity of the nation.
“Apart from corruption, the new government should see drugs as the number one enemy of the country,” he said, when debating the motion of thanks on the royal address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V in the Dewan Negara here.
Yong said, the government should tackle the issue of drug abuse from the approach of enforcement to rehabilitation.
“Drug abuse has become a worrying trend, particularly for youngsters living in the rural areas,” he noted.
Additionally, he said, drug addictions exist among professional workers in public and private sectors, as well as university students. Hence, Yong called for more frequent urine tests and drug screenings to be carried out among varsity students, government and private employees.
On another note, he said, the World Bank Malaysia Economic Monitor 2017 showed that the lower-income group spent almost 40 percent of their incomes on food as compared to 25 percent for the high-income earners.
He said, the high inflation rate further contributed to increased living costs, while the government’s measure to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to zero-rated did little to reduce the costs of goods.
As such, Yong urged the government to monitor and identify the best measures to ensure the prices of goods were not being manipulated by any parties.
He also hoped that the government could assist the urban poor to increase their capacity and skills through technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and provide entrepreneurship opportunities for them to break out of poverty.
Meanwhile, Yong welcomed Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik’s view that the younger generation should be encouraged to master additional languages. He said the cultural and linguistic diversity should be seen as the strength of Malaysia.
“The fact that Malaysians are natural translators, who have the ability to converse in various languages, should be appreciated and regarded as our strength,” Yong said.
Yong also hoped that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government would improve national unity in the context of a new Malaysia.
He said, the transition of power form Barisan Nasional (BN) to PH had been done in a civilized and peaceful manner, unlike other countries where political disputes sometimes end up involving the police, army, bloodshed and casualties.
Yong also hoped that the new government would walk the talk on the pledges they have made.
“We must ensure Malaysia will be better under the new governance because that is what the people desire. I am confident that PH will remain inclusive and allow for discussions and differences in opinions,” he added.