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By William Isau
SIBU, Sept 9: Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng supports the idea of the police and National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) carrying out surprise inspections and urine tests in schools to combat drug abuse among the youth.
However, he said, such actions need to involve the Ministry of Education (KPM) as such a move would fall under the ministry’s purview.
“I support the effort but the anti-drug campaign held in schools needs to be intensified so that the message about the dangers of drugs can be conveyed to students from an early stage,” he said during the anti-drugs campaign at SJK(C) Sacred Heart here today.
In the meantime, Chieng said, he hopes that the police and AADK will conduct more frequent inspections at nightclubs and karaoke centres.
He also expressed concern over the number of drug addicts in Malaysia which has now reached 1,097,408 people and AADK statistics which show 328,640 of the total number of addicts are between 15 and 29-years-old.
“When I saw this figure, I was shocked and this is something that is very worrying. According to a study in 2020, for every hundred youth, six of them are involved in drug abuse.
“Then four of them are still drug addicts. But I believe the number is higher because it’s just statistics. So, there are more than six per cent of youth involved in drug abuse,” he stressed.
Following that, Chieng urged the government to take this issue seriously because it is at a very serious level at the moment.
Also present was Sibu Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau Lee Ming, who is also the chairman of the campaign organising committee. — DayakDaily
