Dr M.A. Nairs in which he wrote about the need to first curb drug abuse in the fight against snatch theft
has reinforced my earlier suggestion to the Government to introduce and implement a policy to provide
employment for rehabilitated drug dependants and keep them away from criminal activities.


The fact has been established that an increasing number of dadah addicts who need to support their habit
are involved in snatch thefts and other petty crimes. If we were to deal with the problem of snatch thieves
at source, we need to tackle the problem of dadah addicts.


As long as this problem is not resolved, many dadah-related crimes such as snatch thefts and other petty
crimes will continue to happen.


Providing employment to rehabilitated dadah addicts to keep them away from crime is therefore crucial.
If they do not have employment, they will continue to be involved in petty crimes.


I, therefore, suggest to both the Govern�ment and the private sector to look into the employment of
rehabilitated dadah addicts and help to re-integrate them into society so that they can settle down and
do not have to live a life of crime.

In line with leadership by example, the Government should introduce and implement a policy to provide
employment for rehabilitated dadah addicts in the public sector. If the new government can take the lead
in this, it would be easier to convince the private sector to follow suit.

The Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) also calls for the inculcation and adoption of an anti-crime
culture among all Malaysians if we were to make our communities free from crime.

This involves education, creation of awareness and crime prevention, which must be done in schools,
educational institutions, at home, involving voluntary organisations and the public as a whole.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE,
Vice-chairman, MCPF