New approaches involving families needed to tackle drug-related issues — Sharifah Hasidah
KUCHING: New approaches need to be identified to tackle social ills such as the drug threat, which requires more than just law enforcement.
Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the approaches must include family members of a drug abuser, as they are the ones most able to help a member overcome their addiction.
“Community leaders must work closely with affected families and the authorities, in coming up with more effective programmes to prevent drug abuse from becoming more prevalent among the younger generation.
“Only the family themselves can solve the issue by first keeping their children away from the source of the (drug) problem,” she said when attending the ‘Aspiration Night’ event at Kampung Sungai Bedil Besar, here Sunday.
Sharifah Hasidah added she was very happy to note the concern and quick response of the villagers in dealing with drug issues in their village and working with the authorities to nip the problem in the bud.
“Other than this drug problem and other social issues, I am very happy and I wish to congratulate the JKKK (village security and development committee) for their success this year and for coming up with their plans for 2019. Looking at the ( 2019) list, if you are unable to do all, one third will be good enough,” she said.
Sharifah Hasidah pointed out that she was very impressed by the comprehensive development plan put forth by the Kampung Sungai Bedil JKKK which listed out their request for better roads, bridges and jetty.
“These physical development projects are considered easy (to implement). What is more challenging is ensuring the success of community projects especially the ones that involve the JKKK with local NGOs (nongovernmental organisations), mosque and surau committees as well as collaboration with other agencies.”
She said it is important that the villagers continue working hard towards greater success and for them to support programmes that have been designed to uplift their living standard.
“Support the good leadership of our chief minister. We (Sarawak government) are sourcing for more income for the state and with the implementation of the sales tax on crude petroleum products, we will have the largest budget ever for 2019 to implement all the much-needed development projects.”
Sharifah Hasidah also assured villagers that the construction of a new surau – slated to begin soon – will be completed in 18 months’ time, adding that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has already approved the construction of a waterfront for the village, with construction work expected to begin early next year.