Work together to stop escalation of drug abuse, says Fatimah
MIRI: Society must come together to curb the drug menace to ensure no family member ends up an addict, said Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Education Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah.
She said integrated and longterm measures need to be taken as traffickers show no mercy by choosing to even peddle drugs to youngsters and students.
“Drug trafficking is a lucrative business to them. An addiction among students means that they can sustain their business as students have longer life span.
“Records showed that an unemployed drug pusher had assets of more than RM1 million,” she said when visiting a newlyestablished rehabilitation centre operated by the Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) in Permyjaya here on Monday.
She stressed that although Sarawak still ranked third from bottom in the number of drug addicts in the country, there was no room for complacency as the number of addicts is increasing at a worrying level.
She said police statistics showed that 32,984 persons were arrested for drug-related cases between 2011 and April 2017.
“At the Cure and Care Rehabilitation Centre in Kuching alone, 74 new cases were reported up to May 22 this year, while for the whole of last year there were 133 cases.
Equally shocking was the random urine test carried out on 99 students in four secondary schools in Lawas between January and March this year, in which 23 of them tested positive for drugs.
On BEM’s effort in setting up the rehabilitation centre, Fatimah said the effort was very commendable and paid tribute to Pastor Frederick Besar for initiating the programme, adding that it was in line with her ministry’s focus to get everyone in the community to be involved in curbing drug addiction and trafficking.
Pastor Frederick, meanwhile, said the 14-month-long rehabilitation programme is to assist students and youths involved in drugs and who are willing to undergo the programme without being forced.
Each resident needs to pay RM500 per month, although he said many of them could not afford the fees as they were from poor families.