‘Drug abuse among students not as bad as perceived by some’
KUCHING: Drug abuse among students in secondary and primary schools in Sarawak is not as bad as perceived by some people.
According to Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the number of cases of substance abuse among students in the state is very small.
“If we look at our record on the total number of drug abuse cases among school students, there are only 247 students reported to have tested positive for drugs, over the last one year.
“This is based on the urine tests that were carried out in several schools for the whole of Sarawak.
“Of the number, Kuching recorded the highest with 34 cases,” he told reporters after chairing the 71st state- level Malaysia Drug Prevention Association ( Pemadam) committee meeting here yesterday.
Although the number was considered small, Abdul Karim said Pemadam was still very concerned as it did not want the number to grow bigger.
He said random urine tests would be conducted regularly in schools where some students are suspected to be under the influence of illegal substances.
The tests, he added, would be conducted by the police and other bodies such as the National AntiDrug Agency upon receiving complaints from school teachers or counsellors.
Abdul Karim, however, said when they tackle drug issues or conduct a urine test in school, they do not want it to be too open because they are dealing with youngsters who are still underage, and they want to keep the good name of the school.
“No parents will want to send their children to a school where its students have tested positive for drugs.
“Because of that, we don’t want the name of the school, after we have carried out the sampling, to be publicised,” he elaborated.
Abdul Karim said unlike in the 1970s or 1980s when drugs like heroin and cocaine were mostly derived from plants, today the substances used are mostly synthetic and processed in labs, in small rooms or condominiums.
He said synthetic drugs, which are easier to distribute in schools, are normally pushed by the student moles who were possibly picked by agents in the open market.
He urged every level of society to help in the fight against drug abuse, saying it is the responsibility of all to identify and nab whosoever is the link person or the kingpin of drugs among the children.
Also present at the press conference were Assistant Minister of Law, State- Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sha r i fah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, state Education Department director Rakayah Madon, state Narcotic Criminal Inves t igat ion Depar tment deputy chief DSP Sekam Anoi and National Anti-Drug Agency Sarawak director Wan Madihi Wan Salleh.