Community involved in dadah fight

KUCHING: The fight against drugs involves the entire community, not just the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) and police.

Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Assistant Minister Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the problem is not at a critical stage yet, but the community must rally against drug abuse.

“The government is doing so many things for the future but there is no point if our young people are ruined by drugs,” she told reporters after launching the community empowerment ‘ Perangi Dadah Habis- Habisan’ video campaign at Plaza Merdeka yesterday.

Places like Plaza Merdeka are in a position to push the message of avoiding drugs as young people gather there, and they can be reached through the video or brochures, she said.

General manager of Plaza Merdeka Holdings Sdn Bhd, KM Cheah agreed.

“We can offer a platform for community events such as this, and help by screening this video on our LED screen, and handing out brochures,” he said.

According to the AADK database, 413,754 drug addicts are registered with them from 1988 to 2015. In 2015, 73.5 percent of those registered were youths including children as young as seven years old.

A ADK identified 178 high-risk areas nationwide which needed more attention.