KUCHING: Sarawak is about to take another step – with the aid of scanners – in its fight to stem the flow of drugs into the state.
If everything goes according to plan these scanners will be deployed across the state by August this year.
“The state is being used as a transit point for drug distribution using the services of courier companies,” said a concerned Deputy Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Well-being Development Mohammad Razi Sitam.
“We worry that it may become a new method to distribute drugs. Sometimes, this method does not involve screen checks from the place it is sent until it arrives here.
“Hence, we are recommending that scanners such as the Instant Visual Drug Detector (IVDD) and Hand-Held Drug Detector are placed at every cargo centre,” he told the media after chairing the One-Stop Committee (OSC) to Address Drug and Substance Issue (MIDS), meeting at Wisma Bapa Malaysia yesterday (June 13).
He said in August Sarawak’s technical working groups under the OSC MIDS are also expected to be fully operating complete with advanced technologies.
The state government had recently allocated RM5.38 million for the acquisition of technologies, equipment and resources for the Sarawak OSC MIDS Integrated Action Plan, which involves the Customs Department, Narcotic Criminal Investigation Department (NCID), National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA), the Health Department and the OSC MIDS districts.
Razi told the press conference that this is Sarawak’s contribution to the war against drugs.
He pointed out that no other state in Malaysia has this action plan and it shows that Sarawak is serious about handling this issue.
In a related note, Razi said the state has recorded a total of 3,909 arrests related to drug and substance abuse activities from January to May this year.
This is the result of 3,034 operations conducted by enforcement agencies such as the NCID, Customs and NADA.
Of the figure, Kuching recorded the highest number of arrests of 936, followed by Sibu (397), Bintulu (367), Miri (332) and Kota Samarahan with 204 arrests.
“Meanwhile, to improve access to addiction treatment and drug and substance abuse rehabilitation in Sarawak this year, the OSC MIDS action plan is to maximise in-capacity rehabilitation at the new Cure and Care Rehabilitation Centre (CCRC) at Jalan Puncak Borneo, which has a capacity for 250 clients.
“Other than that, another CCRC is to be established in northern Sarawak and the number of One Stop Centre for Addiction services should be increased at appropriate Health Clinics by the Sarawak Health Department.
“The action plan also looks into creating more community-based treatment and rehabilitation centres at the district level through the OSC MIDS District with the establishment of related facilities such as the Community Development and Intervention Centre (CDIC) for substance-stricken communities; as well as supporting and collaborating with private rehabilitation centres in and outside Sarawak such as the Methodist Victory Home in Sibu; KENOSIS in Miri; KOMITED Malaysia in Pahang; and PENGASIH in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
