BY JAMES WONG
SARAWAK has achieved a remarkable milestone in its efforts to combat drug addiction, with a ratio of one in six drug users receiving treatment and rehabilitation as of March this year.
Sarawak Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah highlighted that this ratio surpassed the international average of one in seven, as reported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2022.
“From 2018 to April 2023, Sarawak recorded a total of 51,842 arrests related to drug and substance abuse offenses. Among these arrests, 37,190 (71.7 per cent) were related to drug use and addiction,” she said when delivering her ministerial winding-up speech at the DUN sitting on today (May 23).
Fatimah expressed her appreciation for the success of the enforcement agencies in combating drug trafficking in Sarawak and emphasised the need to recognise their efforts.
During the same period, the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) made significant seizures, confiscating drugs worth a total of RM74.01mil.
The combined efforts of law enforcement resulted in the arrest of 3,651 drug dealers. The annual value of drug seizures ranged from RM7.92mil in 2018 to RM7.74mil from January to April 2023.
To support the fight against drug abuse, she said the ministry had allocated a total of RM7.9mil from 2018 to April 2023 to implement programmes and activities aimed at detection and prevention of drug abuse, as well as treatment, rehabilitation, and drug abuse prevention education.
Additionally, the allocation aimed to enhance the governance of the district-level One-Stop Committee (OSC), which played a crucial role in addressing drug and substance abuse issues (MIDS) at the grassroots level.
