WAR ON DRUGS NEEDS GREATER EFFORT

IT WAS reported recently that about three million volunteers from the
National Anti-Drugs Agency and various agencies under the Home
Ministry had been roped in to fight drug abuse in the country.

Known as the Malaysia Squad Against Drug Abuse, the volunteers
concerned would not only campaign against drug abuse but would also
offer treatment to addicts and help them find employment.

Recognising the enormity of the drug abuse problem, it is time for
Malaysia to have a new vision, direction, strategy and approach in the
war against drugs if we are ever to succeed in making Malaysia
drug-free by the Year 2015.

While it is laudable for us to set a target for Malaysia to be drug
free, it requires total commitment and participation by all sectors of
the community (including parents and teachers) and organisations to
achieve this objective.

Clearly, no one party alone can help to overcome the drug
menace.

Drug addiction has been Malaysia's number one problem for three
decades.

As such, drug abuse still poses a major problem to the nation,
particularly since those aged between 15 and 40 make up 80% of the
drug addicts in the country.

It is time to combat the drug menace in order to save our younger
generation from the scourge of drugs.

To all our youths, who are the biggest assets of the country, I wish
to advise them to keep away from drugs as it can lead to their
self-destruction.

As the key to the fight against drugs lies in prevention, a
national-level prevention strategy is needed to involve the family,
school, society and workplace in helping to eradicate the problem.

The active role of teachers, parents and the community must be
intensified to ensure that drug addiction among teenagers and youths
does not become more prevalent.

There cannot be any let-up in the national effort to eradicate the
problem.

Concerned as we are with youth involvement in drugs, the Malaysian
Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) wishes to offer the following
advice and suggestions:

- - Youths must learn how to cope with the stress of daily life without
resorting to drugs. This could be through spiritual means or engaging
in healthy recreational activities;

- - Youths must resist peer pressure if they are urged or influenced to
do things which they know are wrong, improper and which lead to
self-destruction;

- - Youths should be educated on the dangers of drug abuse and addiction
through seminars, the workplace, books and publications, and pass on
the information about the harmful effects of drugs to their friends;
and,

- - Youths must develop courage, discipline, a sense of responsibility
and self-esteem to build a better future for themselves and the
country by rejecting drugs.

As the largest anti-crime NGO in the country, the MCPF remains ever
committed to educate the younger generation about the dangers of drug-abuse.

Police statistics show that 30%-40% of drug addicts are involved in
petty crimes. As such eradicating the drug menace is also crucial in
the fight against crime.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE,

Vice-Chairman, MCPF.