KOTA PADAWAN: Sarawak needs an additional two Narcotics Rehabilitation Centres (PUSPEN), said Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister said the two new PUSPEN would be able to accommodate the treatment and rehabilitation needs of drug addicts in the state.
Fatimah said that the request should be considered due to the effectiveness of PUSPEN Kuching in conducting rehabilitation programmes.
“We have already seen the effectiveness of what PUSPEN clients have gone through.
“Not only do they engage in activities that involve discipline, but also enjoyable activities.
“This is how we better understand human behaviour—by incorporating both enjoyment and high discipline,” she said.
She said this in her speech at the 2025 state-level Anti-Drug Day Commemoration Ceremony at PUSPEN Kuching here on Friday.
Fatimah, who is also the chairperson of the One-Stop Committee for Addressing Drug and Substance Issues (OSC-MIDS), urged that the request for additional centres be considered.
“If Sarawak is making this request, it is justified to meet our needs because PUSPEN Kuching is a testament to great success and effectiveness in rehabilitation,” she added.
When later met by reporters regarding the additional new PUSPEN, Fatimah stated that her department would submit an official letter to the AADK to justify the need for more PUSPEN centres in the state.
She added that the additional PUSPEN centres should be established in the central and northern zones of Sarawak to provide rehabilitation and recovery services to clients.
The event was also attended by the deputy director-general (Operations) of National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK), Khairul Anwar Bachok, and the director of PUSPEN Kuching, Yuliani Yahya.
