The prime minister wants the national religious council to give a 'fatwa' (religious ruling) on the evil of drugs abuse which seems to be on a rise today.

While one can empathise with the government and NGOs which seem to be on the losing side in the battle against drug abuse in both rural and urban areas, one needs to ask whether an edict from the religious council will make the scourge go away.

The issue needs to be addressed as a high number of our youth, particularly the Malays, are either in prison or in drug rehabilitation centres because of the menace. Some have contracted Aids. The loss of their contribution to society as useful citizens can't be measured in just monetary terms.

The recent case of the loss of 60,000 psychotropic pills from right under the nose of the police shows that the illegal selling of drugs is a lucrative trade with even the hangman's noose failing to deter drug pushers from pushing their trade.

One wonders why the Malays tend to be involved in drug abuse. Have our family values been compromised resulting in our youth falling victim to the scourge of drug abuse in turn robbing our nation of future leaders?

Drug abuse knows no class barriers. Its tentacles spread from the rural areas such as Felda settlements where ganja smoking is rampant to urban settings where designer drugs like ecstasy are easily available.

It doesn't help when entertainment artists - who are supposed to be role models for our youths - are caught with drug pills. One tends to wonder if the recent drugs involving our artists are just the tip of the iceberg as far as drugs and the entertainment scene are concerned.

There should be a more holistic approach to solving the drug menace. We seems to be looking only at the symptoms and not at the root causes. There is no point in the government launching campaign after campaign against drug abuse if they only peter out after a short while.

It would be prudent if the government can stop or effectively discourage smoking among our youth as most young smokers later on tend to indulge in other unhealthy activities like smoking ganja.

Parents, as the first role models, should not allow their children to mix around with bad hats and should also be curious as to what their offspring are up to after school or when not at home.

Wholesome family activities should be planned in order to enhance family values. Moral and religious values should be instilled in our youths to help them stay away from negative activities.

At the end of the day, strong family values and close family ties can stop our youth from being caught in the dadah trap.