GET TOUGH WITH DRUG ADDICTS

IKIM Views With Mazilan Musa

First of all, I would like to wish all readers a Happy New Year. May
2004 bring peace and prosperity to the world and this country.

Thus far, in addition to physical development, Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is also serious in wanting to enhance the
quality of life, physically and spiritually, for all Malaysians.

One of his priorities is to create a safer environment for the populace.
However, I think it is also the wish of the nation to see the Government
more involved in cracking down on a more serious problem - the drug addicts
and the danger they bring. There is evidence that drug addicts are still
terrorising the country. They are everywhere, from the peaceful villages to
the busy cities.

In Bukit Tunku? No.

Almost all the houses there are walled up to protect the owners from
intruders. At some houses, I think, the walls and gates cost more than the
houses. On the other hand, would it be any safer if you built your house in
the remote Kg Sungai Lui in Hulu Langat, Selangor? I don't think so.

The drug addicts are even worse in the villages. They roam and terrorise the
villages in broad daylight. Nothing is spared from these drug addicts - not
even the pucuk paku (edible ferns), bananas and chickens. You may wake up in
the morning to find you have no kettle to boil the water or no frying pan to
make your lempeng (pancake). Worse still, the cooking gas tank is also gone.
The cooking gas tank is a favourite among drug addicts. It is expensive yet
easy to carry. All the addicts need to do is to redeem the tank at the gas
dealer and claim back the deposits. The kitchen utensils (or anything made
of metal like steel, aluminium or copper) are also favourites among the drug
addicts. These could easily be sold to the scrap metal dealers.

In the worst-case scenario, these drug addicts are capable of committing
more serious offences, including murders. We had learnt from the media how a
woman bomoh (traditional healer) in Perak was found strangled to death in
her own house. Her drug addict son was remanded to facilitate the murder
investigation.

Another bone-chilling incident happened in Klang.

A 70-year-old father was allegedly slashed to death by his son. The reason
was he refused to give his son RM5. Many road accidents (some were fatal)
also involved drug-addicted motorists. I do not know how these drivers could
spend the rest of their lives knowing that their errors had caused injuries
and even deaths to many.

So, what is the moral of the story?

Drug addicts are dangerous to the society and need to be put away. We need
to be harsher in dealing with them. We have been very lenient with the drug
addicts. I asked some villagers why there were so many drug addicts in the
villages. The answer given revealed their frustration. They were tired of
making reports to the authorities. They said, in many cases, the addicts
would be out again roaming the villages within a short while. Therefore,
they have stopped reporting them. Hardcore addicts must be put away, with
minimum possible expenditure, for a long time. We are spending too much of
taxpayers' money to rehabilitate the addicts who are not serious in getting
back to a normal and healthy life. So, what are we going to do with them?

I will tell you what.

This is something practical that we could learn from our former colonial
masters. Find a remote island and dump the drug addicts there. Make sure no
supply of any drug is available on the island. Of course, to defend
ourselves from being labelled as cruel and inhuman, we can ensure the
addicts are taught various skills while on the island. What sickens me is
that we, the rest of the society, have always been blamed. We are accused of
being less tolerant and accepting towards so-called rehabilitated addicts.
Just because they feel that members of the society are always suspicious of
them, they have to go back to their old habit. What a clever and nice idea -
blame us for everything! We have to bear in mind that the ball is in their
court. They have to prove to us they are worth given another chance to join
the society. Do not expect us to welcome them back into our society and let
them explore where we keep our
valuables and kitchen utensils.

Representing the rest of the society, I would like to make an appeal to the
Government. Please take immediate and harsher actions to solve the drug
addiction problem. Our request is simple: We just want our normal and
peaceful lives back, free from these drug addicts. If we want to attract
foreign investments into the country, besides providing good education,
eradicating the drug addicts is another way forward.

The era of the so-called "soft-method" of rehabilitation is over.