All quarters need to take responsibility to fight drug abuse

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman has called for all parties to continuously cooperate in combating drug abuse, the number one enemy of the country.

He said the drug issue was not the problem of other people but the people’s own as there were possibilities that the people’s own family members were involved in the drug abuse issues.

“Enforcement alone would not be able to control this situation. The war on drug abuse, from prevention, treatment and recovery, needs continuity on a greater scale.

“The ban on any addictive substance should always be supported by all parties despite the urges (by some) to loosen the prohibition for the benefit of commercialisation,” he said in conjunction with the national Interactive Seminar entitled Smart Sharing Program (SHARP): Substance Abuse and Recovery Counselling 2018, here yesterday.

Mohd Azis’s speech was read by deputy director-general (operation) of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) Datuk Izhar Abu Talib. The seminar was organised by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in collaboration with AADK and was attended by 450 participants comprising civil servants, security personnel such as the military, police and UMS students.

According to Mohd Azis, the ban on any addictive substance should be supported by all parties, instead of loosening its prohibition because the impact of the substance on social, health and the economy could not be measured to justify the profits from its commercialisation.

He also acknowledged the issue of dealing with drug abuse was a difficult task as it involved the dependency of the drug addicts towards the substance.

However, he added, if the use of the substance in the country could be reduced, its demand would also decrease while affecting the drug suppliers.

“Theoretically, if we manage to reduce the abuse of the substance in the country, indirectly the supply will plummet as it is no longer seen as a lucrative business for the trafficker,” he said. - Bernama

Cocoa Team needs to expand membership to include smallholders — Kok

RANAU: The Ministry of Primary Industries has recommended that the membership of the Cocoa Team (or C-Team), which is made up of cocoa entrepreneurs, to be expanded to include cocoa smallholders throughout the country.

Its Minister, Teresa Kok said the initiative, spearheaded by the Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB), was instrumental in increasing cocoa productivity and production through an efficient and effective in-situ plantation management.

“I would like to propose that the C-Team scope to be enlarged to include cocoa smallholders by forming cocoa community teams or CC teams involving the entire cocoa acreage of 17,550 hectares.

“This effort is aimed at increasing cocoa production and meeting the needs of the local cocoa industry,” he said at the closing ceremony of the C-Team Enhancement Workshop here yesterday.

The text of her speech was read by Deputy Primary Industries Minister Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Kok said 30 C-Team groups, involving cocoa growers, which were set up since 2016, succeeded in increasing cocoa production by between six and 104 per cent in Kelantan, Johor, Melaka and Sabah.

On cocoa development in Sabah, she said cocoa was first cultivated in Ranau in 1998 and the cultivation grew rapidly to become the Sabah Cocoa Cluster.

Kok said growth along the value chain was vital for the cluster, as the development of cocoa beans into chocolate not only would promote cocoa cultivation activities, but also cocoa processing, cocoa manufacturing, commerce and commercial activities.

“This concept will also indirectly increase the income of smallholders with the production of more cocoa-based products and the creation of a commercial-based entity,” he said - Bernama