THANK YOU: Syed Mohd Junaidi (second right) receives a token of appreciation from Wong while Sharifah Mariam looks on during the seminar ‘The Roles of Women in Combating Drug Menace’.
SIBU: National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) is enlisting women for their new programme ‘Masyarakat Wanita Antidadah’ (Mawadah) to fight the drug menace.
Giving an awareness talk during the seminar ‘The Roles of Women in Combating Drug Menace’, AADK Sibu branch rehabilitation officer Dalin Nani George said the agency was galvanising women’s support for early intervention to keep their families safe from it.
Going beyond the conventional method, women are engaged under the newly rolled out Mawadah programme, and they can help keep their children’s behaviour in check, given their multi-functions at home.
She recalled a tragic incident where a 13-year-old girl from a broken family got hooked on drugs, ruining her future in the process.
“Women are more patient and have multiple roles as homemakers, mothers, spouses and sisters, allowing children to be closer to them. Children find it more convenient to talk with their mother rather than father, and this is where they can apply the early intervention method.
“They can play an effective role in Mawadah, disseminating information on the dangers of drug. This will go a long way for youngsters to shun drugs, including safeguarding them from being duped into becoming drug mules,” Dalin told those present at a hotel here yesterday.
The seminar was jointly organised by Pemadam Sibu district and ‘Pertubuhan Kebajikan Islam Malaysia’ (Perkim) Sibu branch, and participated by various NGOs.
She was optimistic that equipped with better awareness about the dangers of drugs, children would be better able to resist being influenced by bad hats or coaxed into becoming drug mules.
Recently, Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot was quoted in a newspaper report to have said his ministry was concerned about the number of Malaysians caught overseas with drugs brought in from the country with or without their knowledge. He said up to March 31 this year, 11 Malaysians were arrested in China alone.
Dalin revealed that the membership for Mawadah here is about 300 people here,
Cautioning that when early intervention was not applied, the drug menace could ruin an entire family, she revealed that the target groups were community leaders, mothers, grandmothers, female relatives, sisters, family members and female counsellors among others.
Earlier, she revealed the presence of a one Cure and Care 1Malaysia Clinic in Sarawak to help those besieged by drugs problem.
Besides Sibu, there was one AADK office each in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu.
Sibu District Officer and Pemadam chairman Wong See Meng in his speech, called for more such programmes to be rolled out.
“This will help create heightened awareness on the dangers of drugs and the grave consequences associated with them,” Wong said.
Among those present were state Pemadam executive secretary Syed Mohd Junaidi Wan Zawawi and its Sibu executive Pemanca Sharifah Mariam Syed Junaidi.