SIBU: The fight against drug abuse must begin at home, with families taking primary responsibility for monitoring, guiding, and protecting their children.
Sibu Division Paramount Community Leader Temenggong Datuk Seri Wan Hamid Edruce Tuanku Mohamad stressed that government initiatives and anti-drug campaigns will yield limited results if parents neglect changes in their children’s behavior.
“The effort to combat drugs begins within the family unit,” Wan Hamid said. “No matter how many anti-drug programmes or campaigns the government organises, they will be ineffective if parents do not actively care for their children.”
He urged parents to provide sufficient love, attention, and guidance as an essential first line of early prevention.
Wan Hamid was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Drug-Free Community Well-being Programme—themed ‘Together We Prevent, Community Prosperity’—at the University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) campus today (Sept 19).
Jointly organised by the Sibu District Office and the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) Sibu District, the event drew over 100 community leaders and headmen (KMKK) from across the district.
Wan Hamid added that drug prevention cannot rest solely on enforcement agencies, urging local communities to play an active role at the grassroots level.
He specifically called on Village Development and Security Committees (JKKKs), particularly in longhouses and villages, to monitor youth welfare and serve as the “eyes and ears” of law enforcement.
“JKKKs must report any drug-related activities in their respective areas immediately,” he urged, noting that local leaders are best positioned to spot early red flags.
Also present at the event were Pemanca Sharifah Ainie Sayed Alwie and Sibu District Office Administrative Officer Cynthia Ong.
