THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

The party drug Ecstasy can give its users seemingly boundless energy, but
it takes a toll on users' health. That's one message the MCA is driving home

TO ITS users, Ecstasy is a drug that makes them feel good.

But after a week of intense campaigning by the Malaysian Chinese
Association (MCA), ""E'', as the drug is commonly known, now spells danger
for many Malaysians.

Images come to mind of users robbed of their lives, suffering from
over-exertion and heatstroke after hours of mass hysteria played out to the
pounding beat of techno music.

"It does not get reported in the press but it is not uncommon for some
people to overdose or suffer a bad trip and end up in hospital. If you are
not careful, you can over-exert yourself and collapse in exhaustion,'' a
regular user of the drug told The Sunday Times.

The woman, in her mid-20s, knows what she is talking about.

She has gone down that road before.

Through its anti-Ecstasy publicity campaign, the MCA has also exposed the
extent to which the most popular club drug today is used.

From lorry drivers to teenagers, from grandfathers to karaoke hostesses
and guest relation officers (GROs), Ecstasy has become the party drug of
choice.

But it is not a party for every user.

MCA Public Complaints Bureau chief Michael Chong says some nightclub
operators were forcing their GROs to take the drug just so customers would
have a better time.

Their rationale?

Taking Ecstasy causes the GROs amenable to more risque behaviour.

He noted that other users had become violent and addicted to the drug, with
some teenagers dropping out of school as a result.

But users, who the MCA says number some 200,000, claim the drug is not
addictive.

"You can get yourself hurt if you abuse the drug but it is definitely not
addictive in the same way that heroin or cocaine is,'' says Kerry (not her
real name), a 25-year-old Ecstasy user who works in advertising.

The point is that Ecstasy is a party drug.

Take away the party and people are not going to take the pill, says another
regular user.

Kerry says Ecstasy is part of the nightclub culture here and users only
take it in clubs.

"It gives you lots of energy to dance for hours and people feel really
happy,'' she says.

But she admits that the pill can make one feel paranoid.

Ecstasy is part of a relatively new culture that swept through Britain and
Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Fuelled by house and techno music, as well as rampant Ecstasy use,
all-night raves have become the norm in Malaysia too.

These raves are by nature illegal and their promoters, through flyers and
Internet mailing lists, usually keep the venues clandestine.

One e-mail message making its rounds is inviting people to a ""Fantasy
Island'' party next month in Pulau Besar, off Mersing in Johor.

Featuring disc jockeys from Britain, France, Singapore and Malaysia, the
rave is for two nights.

The "Fantasy Island'' party is modelled after the monthly Full Moon party
in Koh Phangan, Thailand, considered the biggest and best beach rave in the
world, drawing between 10,000 and 20,000 revellers every month.

There is little that the authorities can do about these raves.

After one rave held in a forest reserve outside Kuala Lumpur early this
year, Immigration officials could only deport the Briton who organised the
event, which saw more than 1,000 youths dancing the night away.

While those who take part in rave culture are usually young middle-class
professionals and college kids, what concerns the authorities is that
people from all walks of life are indulging in Ecstasy.

There are the working-class Chinese-educated youngsters, known as the feng
tow kids, because of their constant head-shaking when tripping on the drug.

"Even grandpas and grandmas take the pill because they lose their
inhibitions and it gives them the energy to dance all night,'' says Kerry.

The MCA officially launches its campaign against Ecstasy tomorrow.

The party has also expressed support for the call by police to revoke the
permits of nightclubs which allow Ecstasy pills on their premises.

"If they (night club operators) don't abide by directives, local
authorities can withdraw their permits," said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr
Ling Liong Sik yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.

For now, its women's wing chief, Dr Ng Yen Yen, says the MCA just wants to
create awareness that club drugs are not fun drugs.

"We have to stop our children from taking it,'' she told The Sunday Times.