Small island in Langkawi being considered for drug rehab centre

A small island here is being considered for the building of an integrated drug treatment and rehabilitation centre with vocational training such as in fisheries and agriculture given to the patients.

National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) director-general, Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abdullah said the vocational training would enable the treated patients to carry on with their lives after leaving the centre, the first to be set up on an island.

“The suitability of the island as a drug treatment and rehabilitation centre will be evaluated from the aspects of its landscape, available resources such as water, and that its distance should not be too far from the main island. The AADK has identified a number of suitable islands (for the centre) and will inform the government about this.

“However, the proposal is still at the early stage. Besides announcing the island chosen, we will also consider the pros and cons which need to be studied further before the centre becomes a reality,” he said when met by reporters at the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency's Maritime District 1 Langkawi base, Bukit Malut, here, yesterday.

Earlier, Zulkifli spent almost five hours viewing five islands to identity each island's suitability as an integrated drug treatment and rehabilitation centre. Also present was Kedah AADK director, Rohayu Ahmad.

Asked on the time frame for the proposal to become a reality, Zulkifli said there was no time frame set as the matter was still at the proposal stage.