KUCHING March 2: The Sarawak branch of the Drug Prevention Association of Malaysia (Pemadam Sarawak) will double its efforts in organising various community programmes to be implemented this year.
In a statement, its chairman, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, disclosed that previous programmes organised by Pemadam Sarawak had received encouraging responses from the public throughout Sarawak, including from youth and school children.
“We will continue to work hard in organising educational and drug awareness programmes which in the past few years had received encouraging response from the target groups which include youth and school children,” he said.
“Pemadam Sarawak continued with its community outreach programmes even during the Covid-19 pandemic via collaborations with strategic partners, which include the Sarawak Education Department, National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), police, Sarawak National Youth Organisation (Saberkas), and various Resident and District Offices (Rando),” he added.
Abdul Karim, who is also the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP) revealed this during the Pemadam Sarawak Exco meeting for various bureau chiefs held at a hotel here yesterday (March 1).
He further shared that the programmes, which have been organised throughout Sarawak, include anti-drug awareness talks, anti-drugs posters and slogan competitions for school children, short video-making competitions and anti-drugs awareness campaigns at the district level.
“We would to thank all of our strategic partners who had extended their full cooperation and assistance in ensuring the success of the community engagement programmes and activities which had also benefited our youths and school children,” he said.
Abdul Karim further disclosed that Sarawak had offered to host this year’s Pemadam national Triennial General Meeting (TGM), to be held soon with delegates from all over the country converging here for the first time.
“We will be more than delighted to host this year’s TGM in Kuching and the event will be good for our local tourism industry because the delegates from all the states in Malaysia are expected to come together with their accompanying office bearers and family members,” he said.
He also revealed Pemadam Sarawak would invite the Unit For Other Religions (Unifor) to join the organisation’s exco.
“Unifor’s participation will boost our efforts to reach out to local folks from all strata of society regardless of their race, background, and religion.
“We will be writing officially to Unifor on this matter because it is an important step forward in making Pemadam Sarawak’s establishment more formidable and progressive. I will be meeting the Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, who is tasked to look after Unifor,” he said. — DayakDaily
