Kampung Dodol Chosen As Drug-free Aspirational Village

GEORGE TOWN, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Kampung Dodol has been chosen as a Drug-Free Aspirational Village, making it a model village in efforts to strengthen drug abuse prevention at the community level.

Penang National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) director Roswati Apin said the Drug-Free Aspirational Village is a focused initiative introduced by AADK through the ‘Jelajah Aspirasi Cergas Sihat’ programme, aimed at raising awareness and educating the community about the dangers of drug abuse and other prohibited substances.

She said the selection of Kampung Dodol was made due to the high compliance rate of clients under AADK supervision, as well as the active involvement of the local community, which shows a strong commitment to supporting the treatment and rehabilitation programme.

"Additionally, this village is at a moderate risk level, meaning that even if there are new cases, the number remains manageable. This simultaneously proves that the role of the community is very helpful in contributing to the effectiveness of the efforts undertaken to ensure that this area is free from drug abuse.

"So we hope that through the implementation of this initiative, Kampung Dodol can serve as an example for other villages and areas to adopt the same approach in addressing the issue of drug abuse at the grassroots level," she said.

She said this to reporters after attending the Program Kembara Antidadah ‘Jelajah Aspirasi Cergas Sihat’ held at Masjid Jamek Hashim Yahaya Kampung Dodol here today, officiated by Northeast district officer Ismasuhaimi Shariff and also attended by Jelutong assemblyman R S N Rayer.

Roswati said apart from Kampung Dodol in the Northeast district, the implementation of the Drug-Free Aspirational Village for this year also focuses on the Central Seberang Perai District (SPT) with the selection of Taman Guar Perahu, before being expanded to several other identified areas next year.

Meanwhile, she said that today’s programme received an unexpected response with attendance reaching around 500 people, exceeding the initial target of 300 people, thereby indicating an increasing level of public awareness regarding the issues of drug abuse and its dangers.

She also said that comprehensive cooperation from all layers of society is very important to support the government's efforts to ensure the well-being of the is maintained, while also providing education and early prevention, especially to the younger generation.

Earlier, various activities were conducted in conjunction with the programme, including a community effort to clean the cemetery, a fun walk, free haircuts, a bubur lambuk arrangement competition, an azan competition and a colouring competition, which were participated in by various layers of society and age groups.

--BERNAMA