THE number of students caught dabbling in illicit drugs in Sarawak is on the decline, drug prevention association Pemadam’s data for the last four years shows.

In 2019, the number of students tested positive in random tests conducted by Pemadam was 274, its state chairman Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said.

In 2020, the number dropped to 141, he told reporters after handing out Pemadam posters for a drug awareness campaign in all 193 secondary schools in the state.

The number fell further to 116 cases last year, and the trend would likely continue as in June this year, only 12 students were caught.

Karim attributed the success to a well-funded and highly active Sarawak Pemadam.

The statistics also showed the errant students were between 14 and 16 with the majority into it because of peer pressure.

Most of the cases were found in urban schools.

Still Karim, who is also state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister, declared the drug problem in Sarawak schools is “very much under control”.

“This shows the effort that we have put into our (anti-drug) programmes are paying off,” he said.

To put the situation in better perspective, Karim said Sarawak is among the “three or four” states at the bottom of the drug abuse ladder.

“The drug problem will never go away. It will be out there somewhere,” he said.

Karim said 15 to 20 years back, anti-drug campaigners were naive to set a target of zero drugs by a certain time.

He admitted that he too once had hoped Sarawak could be drug-free.

“Some things are just not possible. Maybe only in my dreams,” he siad. – August 10, 2023.