Proposal to make anti-drug effort KPI for district officers

LANGKAWI: District officers will be responsible for identifying their targets for drug eradication efforts in their areas if the government approves the proposal to make this one of their key performance indicators ( KPI).

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa said yesterday the proposal which had been submitted to the Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam) president Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Baharum would be studied to determine its effectiveness in fighting the drug menace in the country.

In his keynote address at the National Pemadam Annual General Assembly, Ali said the KPI would not just be for district officers but also secretarygenerals of various ministries which would be identified soon.

For them to be promoted, (I suggested) this KPI and to make drug eradication a priority. Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Baharum, Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam) president

He said for now, the district officers also acted as the district Pemadam chairmen and should actively involve the local community in fighting drug abuse.

Ali Hamsa also proposed that Pemadam promote the concept of ‘the young advising the young’ so as to increase the effectiveness of their drug awareness programmes.

Earlier, Mohd Johari who is also Deputy Defence Minister said his proposal that drug eradication efforts be made a KPI was also an assessment criteria for promotion for the district officers.

“For them to be promoted, ( I suggested) this KPI and to make drug eradication a priority,” he said.

Based on the increase in number of arrests and confiscations, he said efforts to eradicate drug abuse in Malaysia seemed to have generally failed. He said the situation needed the political will and increased commitment from the government and the people to ensure that the country was really free of the problem.

“The effort should not be halfhearted. If we go on like this, we will never solve the problem,” he added. — Bernama