MCPF suggests govt form cabinet committee on drug
SIBU: The government should form a cabinet committee to deal specifically with drug problem in the country, Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation ( MCPF) senior vice- chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye suggested.
He said: “I think the new government has really got to adopt a new strategy to deal with this problem.
“The proposed cabinet committee is just to deal with drug problem alone such as how to deal with the ( drug) syndicates, how to do more effective prevention programmes, strengthening of enforcement and how to do more effective rehabilitation.”
Lee was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s recent statement that drug abuse prevention programme in the country was still not meeting its objective despite the large amount of allocation channelled for the purpose.
She had pointed out that drugs has not only become toxic to the addicts but has affected their family members and the society.
In response, Lee remarked: “Since the Deputy Prime Minister has raised the issue, I think if possible she can chair the cabinet committee to look into this matter.
“II think all the previous actions that had been taken had not been able to really create a dent on the problem. Almost every day this issue of drugs is being reported in the media.”
Adding on, he mentioned that drug problem is a national issue, which requires concerted efforts to tackle.
He said the mandatory death sentence imposed in the country for trafficking drugs apparently does not seem to instil fear in this group of people.
Drug pushers are using Malaysia as a transit point, he noted.
Lee said it was reported that laboratories used to produce drugs had been discovered in a few states in the Peninsula.
“Synthetic drugs pose a serious problem and are distributed to lots of people, for instance in entertainment outlets.”
He believed that drug syndicates are now very aggressive in peddling drugs especially to school children, where in certain schools in the Peninsula, packet drinks laced with drugs were sold cheaply to school children.
Towards this end, Lee reckoned the drug problem could not be dealt by enforcement alone.
On that note, he felt it is opportune time for the Deputy Prime Minister to initiate a meeting or a full- day conference to discuss the matter in- depth together with all relevant parties to get to the root cause of the problem.
Meanwhile, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah fully agreed with Wan Azizah’s statement that Malaysian laws on drug seemed to be the toughest in the world but traffickers and users were seemingly unafraid.
“They seem to know that they could get around the tough laws.
“The government must be tough in tackling this issue,” said Abdul Karim, who is also National Association for the Prevention of Drugs ( Pemadam) Sarawak chairman.