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Call On The Government To Review The Laws Such As The 1982 Dangerous Drug Act And Their Enforcement Against All forms Of Narcotics including Amphetamine-Type, ATS, Such As Ecstasy And Syabu Statement by Dr Tan Seng Giaw, DAP National Vice-Chairman and MP for Kepong on the war on the Ecstasy menace. 1 August 2000 | |||||||
| We need a continuous war against narcotics including psychotropic drugs ATS. The recent wave of publicity on Ecstasy scourge highlights a part of the problem. We hope that Malaysian Chinese Association, MCA, a component of the Barisan Nasional Government, and the public will continue to wage this war which will take years. From 1970 to March 2000, there are 274,632 known drug addicts of all races. They are hooked on mainly heroin and morphine, with an increase of about 35,000 a year. The actual figure is unknown. It may be half a million. Similarly, there is no figure on ATS abusers. The media sinicized the abusers such as 70% Chinese. This requires substantiation. Would sinicization help in the narcotic war? It is reported that one 0.06 gm or 60 mg Ecstasy pill costs RM100 and a fake pill RM40. Every 10gm Syabu is RM400. We have repeatedly debated on narcotics including ATS in Parliament. The Government often gives doctored answers. The latest reply was two weeks ago, saying that narcotics | |
menace was under control. No sooner had we received this answer, the media play up MCA Ecstasy publicity. Drug war has been going on for decades. We see the ebbs and flows. The current Ecstasy hype provides an opportunity for more rhetorics. It is a form of education. While we are witnessing this wave of publicity, we should look at the various aspects such as the narcotic wing in the Home Ministry; the wing gets an allocation of RM46.8 million this year. The narcotic squad has inadequate personnel and fund. They have to track drug kingpins who live and travel in luxury. The latter will not carry 50 gm or more of Ecstasy as under Section 39B Dangerous Drug Act, 1982, this amount of drug means a mandatory death sentence. The Home Ministry uses the Restricted Residence Act against the culprits who distribute Ecstasy. There is a need to review the laws on narcotics including ATS such as Ecstasy and their enforcement as well as the funding, manning and efficiency of the narcotic squad.
Dr Tan Seng Giaw | |||||
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