PUTRAJAYA, Sept 26 — Drug addiction in Malaysia is now affecting children as young as 10, with traffickers using sweets laced with narcotics to lure primary school pupils, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said he had raised the alarming trend with the Education Ministry and preschools, stressing that teachers, parents and communities must unite to protect children from the growing threat, The Star reported.
Ahmad Zahid, who chairs the Cabinet Committee on Eradication of Drugs, said authorities are pursuing new strategies focused on trafficking prevention, improved enforcement and rehabilitation programmes.
He urged agencies like the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) to adopt more creative detection methods, including tackling smugglers who disguise narcotics as online shopping deliveries.
Drug abuse cuts across racial lines in Malaysia, he said, with major traffickers being Chinese, organised distributors Indian, and retail dealers Malay, while addiction rates remain highest in Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah.
The scale of the problem is worsening, with the number of addicts rising by 32.5 per cent in 2024, from 436 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 586, while 396 per 100,000 were recorded by June this year.
To strengthen accountability, Ahmad Zahid said AADK is preparing a strategic plan for 2026-2030 with clear performance indicators, including the Anti-Drug Index, recovery rates, employment outcomes and public awareness levels.
Drawing on his experience as former home minister, he said retraining inmates in prison reduced the national prison population from 78,000 to 42,000, cut the recidivism rate from 48 per cent to 2.6 per cent, and generated RM35 million in revenue, proving that rehabilitation and skills training are vital in the fight against drugs.
