Minister: Raise awareness of drug abuse via social media platforms
KUCHING: The Drug Prevention Association of Malaysia (Pemadam) has called upon the local coordination committee members to double up their efforts in raising public awareness of substance abuse and ways to eradicate it.
Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah says the Covid-19 pandemic has forced people to reevaluate and adopt new ways of running things.
“We are now living in the new normal due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced us to strictly follow the standard operating procedures (SOP).
“This also includes the way we conduct public awareness programmes that are now restricted to a limited number of attendees at any public gathering or activity,” he spoke at the 74th Coordination Committee meeting at a hotel here yesterday.
Abdul Karim said Pemadam Sarawak, like any other nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), must comply with the SOP set by the authorities such as the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Ministry of Health for everyone’s safety, as well as to keep Covid-19 infection at bay.
“We need to keep up with the latest policies with regard to public gatherings and activities in order to curb the spread of Covid19. Our fight against substance abuse and its menace will never stop despite the restriction caused by Covid-19, but our compliance with the SOP is still crucial in ensuring that public’s health and safety are always safeguarded,” he said.
Abdul Karim, who is also Pemadam Sarawak chairman, suggested that one of the ways to disseminate information on Pemadam programmes and activities to the people under the new norm would be to make use of social media, as the people particularly the younger generation rely on the Internet as their source of news, entertainment and social network.
“We need to leverage on the popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube because the local folk, especially the youngsters, are always on the Internet – be it for entertainment, socialising with friends or even the latest news on current issues.”
Abdul Karim said Pemadam Sarawak coordination committee members must always keep themselves abreast with the latest trends in organising public engagement strategies, particularly when technology now plays a big part in the new normal.
Also present at the meeting was Assistant Minister in Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, who is also Pemadam Sarawak vice-chairperson.