Spend Quality Time With Family, Keep Children Off Drugs - Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- All Malaysians are advised to spend quality time with their families and to communicate and pay extra attention to their children's feelings and requirements, so that they will not easily be influenced by negative elements.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said cooperation from all quarters was vital to ensure that the Malaysian society would be free from threats of drugs, and that Malaysian children would grow up as a competitive and successful generation.

"The government is concerned about drug issues, which usually caused by the breakdown of the family institution. Therefore, I would like to call on all Malaysians to ensure that our families practice a happy lifestyle.

"I strongly believe this will prevent our children and our loved ones from getting involved in drugs."

Najib said this in his message for the Anti-Drugs Day 2014 which will be celebrated tomorrow with the theme 'AADK (National Anti-Drugs Agency) Prihatin, Rakyat Sejahtera'.

Najib said parents should be sensitive to any negative behaviour changes in their children, so that early prevention could be done as drug abuse usually began at home.

"Spend quality time with the children, respect their feelings and opinions, teach them about the bad effects of drugs so that they get the correct information," he said.

The prime minister said unhappy and uncomfortable life at home would introduce the children and teenagers to drugs as at those ages, they would believe their peers more than they believe their parents.

He said drug abuse among patients seeking treatments and undergoing rehabilitation processes, especially at 1Malaysia Cure and Care clinics, showed that some of them started having drug issues at the aged of 10.

Najib said Universiti Utara Malaysia's research findings on the economic cost involved concerning drug abuse in 2009, revealed that the government had spent RM8.65 billion through direct and indirect costs to tackle the drug issues.

"If the money were spent on building secondary school with 1,200-student capacity, the government would have built 216 schools which would benefit 259,200 students.

"I think if we can tackle the issue of drug abuse together, we can definitely save the money and use it for other important and beneficial programmes for the people," he said.

Najib also said the government would remain committed and responsible to ensure people's wellbeing by providing more services to meet the people's demands.

Apart from the 1Malaysia Cure and Care clinics, he said the government had also been providing medical treatment and community-based rehabilitation at the Cure and Care Service Centre (CCSC) and Caring Community House (CCH), which also provide counseling, consultancy, reference and advocacy to local residents with drug issues.

The prime minister also called on community members to join the AADK anti-drugs volunteer team, known as SKUAD 1Malaysia, to provide assistance to those having drug issues, including their own family members.

"So far, the squad has 223,201 members nationwide, 80.5 per cent of whom were teenagers and youths aged between 15 and 39," he said.

He also congratulated and expressed gratitude to all non-governmental organisations, government's departments and ministries, for their continuous efforts to combat drugs in the country.