DRUG ADDICTS A RE JUST NOT CATTLE OR SHEEP

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I refer to the letter by Abdul Razak Abu Samah ," Cast away drug addicts on a rehabilitation island,
(nst 8 December).
I have my reservation about the writer's suggestion,unless a thorough feasible study has been made. This is to ensure the safety of not only the drug addicts but also the staff and their families. I think it is unwise for anyone to believe that hard core drug addicts could be successfully rehabilitated by putting them away forever on remote islands ,These are sick and desperate human beings. They would even kill their own mother to get money to support their habit. They are not just cattle or sheep, that could be left to fend for themselves on remote islands.Most of them are walking skeletons with HIV or AIDS, and dying a slow death. Besides it is against Human Rights to cast them away from their families, relatives and friends.
How many people today still remember,when in the early fifties the British Government in Singapore thought it was wise to rehabilitate hard core criminals,and triad society gangsters on an island called Pulau Senang. It was a success story for a couple of years,until a riot broke outand the prisoners not only massacred the British Superintendent of Prison, his officers and warders, but also burnt the whole facility to the ground..
Pulau Senang was history and the United Nations later advised countries not to establish penal islands unless maximum security is guaranteed.
Think of the funds needed to build the facility on a remote island. There is also the matter of logistics, staffing,and management. Is it worth it?. There are now more than 200,000 registered addicts with many more not accounted for. Going by the trend, the population of hard core addicts will increase from year to year. Do we have enough islands to cast all of them there?.
The easy availability of dadah on our streets is a plus factor for the rise in dadah abuse. This contributes to the rise in not only petty but also serious crimes,
Although large amount of various drugs,have been found by the authorities in recent years ,very few big time pushers and smugglers have been arrested. The authorities seem to be arresting more dadah addicts, and unless aconcerted effort is made by all enforcement agencies, the war on dadah which the Government declared three decades ago will not be won.
We must fight the war against dadah, just like the United States,is fighting the war on terrorism.The pushers and smugglers must be hunted and tracked down. Offer attractive rewards to those who give information leading to their arrests.