MELAKA, Feb 4 (Bernama) — The number of people put under surveillance in Melaka last year rose 11.46 per cent from 1,823 individuals to 2,032 people until December for the same period in 2021.

Melaka police chief, Datuk Zainol Samah said the number involved included active individuals who were subject to surveillance orders covering a total of 932 people in the district of Melaka Tengah, 654 people in Alor Gajah and 446 in Jasin.

“We also discovered that besides students from institutions of higher learning, each year new addicts, especially among school-going teenagers and school leavers, were also involved.

“Drug abuse is the number one enemy of the state which need to be tackled quickly because they can jeopardise the future of the younger generation thus crippling the physical and spiritual development of the people,” he said here today.

He was speaking at the opening of the Sentuhan Kasih Programme by the Melaka Tengah District Drug Rehabilitation Committee (JKPD) and the Melaka Tengah District Children Welfare Association (P3K) at the Baruh Alai Balai Raya which was also attended by State Children Drug Rehabilitation Committee chairman (JKPD) Datuk Akramuddin Abdul Aziz.

Meanwhile, Akramuddin said JKPD intends to expand the program to help OKP undergo free short-term skills courses to help them generate their own income to support their lives.

He said the effort was to give OKP people the opportunity to change and build a new life after being caught up in drug abuse and getting out of the shackles of addiction.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency