MORE WAYS TO TACKLE DRUG SCOURGE NEEDED

THE Government has to find other ways to combat the dadah scourge as
placing addicts in rehabilitation centres has not been that successful
in curing their addiction.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this was why the
harm reduction programme was introduced.

He said the results so far had been encouraging.

Under the three-component programme, drug users exchange dirty needles
with clean ones and are given condoms and the drug substitute methadone.

Speaking at the lobby, Najib said initial results from the use of
methadone were encouraging.

"When we are convinced that the method is successful, we will
implement it on a wider scale."

Najib said building more rehabilitation centres would not solve dadah
addiction in the country.

"These Pusat Serenti are not a total failure but we need other methods
to tackle the problem.

"Some addicts are cured but there are also many who returned to their
habit once they are released."

Najib said the refusal by families of addicts to accept them back had
driven many to take dadah again.

Commenting on a news report that there were some one million drug
addicts in the country, Najib said the figure could not be accurate.

"I don't know how the figure came about.

"People should be careful when assuming the number of drug addicts in
the country. One million is a big figure. We have the actual figure."

According to statistics, there are 289,763 registered addicts from
1988 to 2005.

Men made up 98.2 per cent, with 67.3 per cent of them Malays.

Last year, there were 32,808 addicts, with 15,389 being new
cases.

On the exchange of syringes and the distribution of condoms to
addicts, Najib said it was done quietly because the Government did not
want to be accused of encouraging more youths to engage in pre-marital
sex or use drugs.

On another matter, Najib said the issue of whether Malaysia would give
up its airspace and sell cement to Singapore as a condition for the
republic agreeing to the construction of the straight bridge to
replace the Johor Causeway would be decided by the Cabinet.