COMMENT | No end to war against drugs
COMMENT | October has to be the month of drugs. The unending political upheavals aside, stories about drugs - its illicit trade and abuse - were dominant in the Malaysian media for a good part of the month.
I remember how we embarked on an all-out war against drugs in the 70’s after we saw the destruction and damage it inflicted on the nation’s soul. Those hooked on drugs were condemned to a life of living hell.
When the head of the family is a drug addict, the whole family is destroyed. The lives of the young and old are ruined. Drugs only leave a trail of destruction and show no mercy.
Drugs were declared Malaysia’s public enemy Number One then. It was also during this period that the death penalty for drug traffickers was legislated. We meant business in the war against drugs then.
But we have failed and failed miserably in the battle against drugs. One of the key factors has to be...
COMMENT | October has to be the month of drugs. The unending political upheavals aside, stories about drugs - its illicit trade and abuse - were dominant in the Malaysian media for a good part of the month.
I remember how we embarked on an all-out war against drugs in the ’70s after we saw the destruction and damage it inflicted on the nation’s soul. Those hooked on drugs were condemned to a life of living hell.
When the head of the family is a drug addict, the whole family is destroyed. The lives of the young and old are ruined. Drugs only leave a trail of destruction and show no mercy.
Drugs were declared Malaysia’s public enemy Number One then. It was also during this period that the death penalty for drug traffickers was legislated. We meant business in the war against drugs then.
But we have failed and failed miserably in the battle against drugs. One of the key factors has to be greed.
The drug trade is so lucrative. When those who are supposed to see to its eradication are involved in drug trafficking and distribution themselves, how on earth do we expect to succeed in the war against the dreaded substance?
Authorities breaking laws too
Here is a recent example.
A few days ago, it was reported that the main suspect in an alleged theft of RM25 million cash evidence from MACC is now being investigated for drug trafficking.
The suspect is one of three MACC officers detained by the commission last month as part of an investigation related to misuse of power and misconduct in a case involving a "former department head".
According to the police, the suspect may have been involved in drug trafficking activities for over a year.
Here we are, officers of the law are involved in breaking the law themselves.
What about the police officers manning a station and turning their workplace into a sleazy club with women, music, alcohol and of course, drugs?
How many more such incidents were unreported? No wonder substance abuse was frequently carried out in most nightclubs and KTV lounges throughout the country.
Want to organise private drug parties and get away with it? Easy, just invite a few of the wayward men in blue. Problem solved.
Losing our youth to drugs
Sadly, we have also lost many of our young people to substance abuse.
This past week, two videos of horrific road accidents involving the mat rempit (illegal motorcycle racers) went viral.
One showed a stunt performed by a motorcyclist leading a group of mat rempit which suddenly went awry. He fell off his bike and was mowed down by his friends riding behind him. No surprise if there were fatalities, although the video ended abruptly.
The second was more gruesome. A mat rempit was virtually flying on his bike when he smashed right into a heavy utility vehicle. No one could have survived such a horrific crash.
I have only one likely conclusion. I honestly doubt any sane guy would have been able to achieve such a high to perform dangerous, daredevil stunts if not under the influence of drugs.
The racers seemed to think they were invincible, otherwise, they would not be performing such dangerous stunts on a busy highway. This is totally insane! What a waste of our young lives!
Oh yes, some former ministers in charge of youth had even attempted to promote the mat rempit group and road racing. Why didn’t they think of using the Sepang Formula 1 track instead?
Malaysians abroad are also notorious in the drug trade. Last Saturday, Australian police said they seized the largest heroin shipment ever detected in the country, worth an estimated A$140 million (RM431 million), and arrested a Malaysian over the importation of the illicit drug.
The 450kg shipment - as heavy as a grand piano - was detected in a sea freight container of ceramic tiles sent from Malaysia and addressed to a Melbourne business, the police said in a statement.
A Malaysian involved in Australia’s largest heroin seizure! Oh, we must be very proud that one of our own is a big-time drug merchant. Well done, Malaysia.
Death penalty
Not unexpectedly, the recent death sentence imposed on a single mother of nine children for a drug offence has reignited calls for the mandatory death penalty to be repealed.
On Oct 15, the Tawau High Court had sentenced Hairun Jalmani, 55, to death for possessing and trafficking 113.9g of methamphetamines (syabu).
The fish seller was convicted under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which stipulates a mandatory death sentence.
Hairun’s case made headlines after she was recorded crying out for help as she was led away while handcuffed by a police officer.
I have stated my case to maintain capital punishment but not to make it mandatory. Allow the judges to exercise their discretion on a case-by-case basis.
Let me repeat. I’m sorry but if you want to make easy money by trafficking drugs and ruining lives and destroying families in the process, you also deserve what’s coming. Go get a job, people. Others have to eke out a living too.
Nonetheless, I maintain that efforts must continue in the war against drugs, even if it is now seen as next to impossible in eradicating it.
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
