Mujahid: Give youths safe place to 'lepak' to keep them from social ills

While he supports the idea of keeping youths safe to prevent them from getting involved in social ills, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the issue should be deliberated further.

He said not all youths leave home for drugs or to get involved in other social problems, but due to lack of space to "lepak", or hang out, with friends.

"Take, for example, the low-cost flat areas; their homes are too small and mostly crowded, where do youths go to lepak?" he said, when met in Tasek Gelugor today.

"We should look into ways to provide safe spaces for them to gather, to be with friends, and to indulge in safe activities," added the Parit Buntar MP.

Mujahud said his ministry would like to help keep youths free from social ills.

"We truly have to discuss more with the other ministries on how to achieve this," he added.

On Friday, Gerakan criticised Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's remarks that a curfew should be imposed on youths to protect them from social ills.

The party's vice-president Baljit Singh said her proposal were "preposterous as it was digressive, and would lead the country backwards into the dark ages".

Wan Azizah had said that a curfew on those who are under 18 years old may help prevent them from getting involved in social ills, particularly drugs.

It is learnt that these issues were among matters raised and agreed on at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Eradicating Drugs chaired by the deputy prime minister. 

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