LESSONS FROM ANGUISH AND DEVOTION

A widowed drug addict father cares so much for his three-year-old daughter
that he refuses to be separated from her. As a result he takes her on his
regular rounds of fixes, exposing her to the risks of filthy and dangerous
haunts.

The man turns down adoption offers for the child, ostensibly because she
gives him a reason to live--and to turn over a new leaf. In the meantime
the child is exposed to the horrors of a nether world.

This plight of pained pathos was not played out in an afternoon Chinese
matinee, but lived out for weeks on the streets and backlanes of Kuala Lumpur.

Members of the public were impressed with the father's devotion. Others
were alarmed by his seeming irresponsibility, and worried over the child's
safety and future.

The drama unfolded over the rest of the week led by our press coverage. The
Federal Territory National Drug Agency, Narcotics Department, Welfare
Department, Shelter Home, a private rehabilitation centre and the police
got into the act along with the toddler's aunt, uncle and former babysitter.

Although the consensus was for the father to be rehabilitated and the girl
to be cared for properly, each party seemed to have different ideas about
what to do. Why this anomaly?

Despite the close bond between father and daughter, the man had decided by
Wednesday to hand her over to the Shelter Home temporarily while he
underwent rehabilitation. The police wanted to question him first, and then
refer him to the National Drug Agency.

At the agency, the Welfare Department wanted to separate the child from the
father. Welfare officers sought to do this even before applying for a court
order for custody, citing the Child Protection Act.

As the Welfare Department vehicle was about to leave, the child's relatives
appeared and stopped the officers. After further discussions, father and
child were granted one more day together, on condition that he report to
the agency.

On Thursday the Juvenile Court handed the child over to her uncle for one
month, during which the Welfare Department would monitor her home
conditions. The father has resolved to seek treatment at the rehabilitation
centre.

We can only wish father and daughter well. At least neither of them will
now be regulars at the city's notorious drug dens.

The father had sought rehabilitation eight years before at the same centre,
without success. It is hoped that his resolve this time is stronger.

Still, we wonder how many other similar cases are out there; how many other
Malaysian families have been stricken by drug abuse.

Every tragic circumstance contains valuable lessons for the parties
involved. We trust that the father, his sister and other relatives in this
instance have learned enough never to repeat their mistakes.

It is also hoped that the authorities concerned will not be as overzealous
or reckless as they have sometimes seemed. The father is a victim of the
drug menace, and his daughter even more so.

Let the heavy hand of the law fall on drug traffickers as the evil
perpetrators of anguish and despair. For the others who have been stricken,
let justice and mercy prevail.