Ucapan Y.B. Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah
Menteri Perkhidmatan Sosial Sabah
Di Majlis Pertandingan Syarahan Anti-Dadah
Di Dewan S.M.K. Kian Kok Kota Kinabalu
Anjuran Kelab Rotary Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Kelab Rotary Garden City, Singapore
Dan Sekolah S.M.K. Kian Kok, Kota Kinabalu
Pada 12hb. April, 1997 - Jam 10:30 Pagi

1.          First of all I wish to register my thanks to Dr. Shen See Tze, President of Rotary Club Tanjung Aru and her organising committee for giving me the honour to be here to officiate at this function on Anti-Dadah speech contest by student representatives from 11 secondary schools in and around Kota Kinabalu.

2.          I wish also to congratulate the Rotary Clubs, Tanjung Aru, Garden City Singapore and Management of S.M.K. Kian Kok for their initiative in organising and sponsoring this speech contest among students.  Your concentration on students is a clear reflection of your care and concern on our younger generation who are expected to carry on your chosen theme "to serve the future with vision and mission".  To take this a step further, your theme is also in line with Vision 2020 which as you know is the mission of the government and a challenge to us all to create a caring society - a society that not only cares for the environment and shares the fruit of our labour with one another but also cares for the young, the less fortunate and under privileged, the aged and other maginalised groups.

3.          For this I am most happy to be here and be associated with this project - a project which I feel is not just for the students to win prizes but training and giving them the opportunity to think and say loud and clear what they see in Dadah.

4.          If at the time of our independence some 40 years ago the number one threat to our security was communism, Dadah is the most serious menace today.  Although Dadah is under control judging from the low percentage of addicts, we must nevertheless be always on guard, given that we live in a so-called borderless world and the fact that we are a fast developing country which is creating an empowered middle class.

5.          Such a situation has created accessibility including dadah which unfortunately is consumed by and addicting the younger generation who is considered the backbone of the country both economically and security - wise.

6.          Given such a senario, the government is advocating a two - prouged on dadah.  On its part, besides providing the necessary mechanism in laws and enforcement agencies, and generally taking the lead in preventive, treatment and rehabilitative programmes, the government is also counting on the equally important role of the NGOs and other sectors.

7.          The effectivess of these sectors is seen in the preventive role in that while you are organising educational programmes such as what we are witnessing today, you are also inculcating and strengthening yourselves and your members generous and holistic values which I am privileged to share.  In today's world values can be easily eroded and lost if not reinforced continuously.  Individuals and families can be caught in the rat race resulting in shallow relationship.  Because of circumstances and the need to be mobile the family system is fast changing from the extended family to the nuclear family system.  With the extended family system there is always a helping and caring hand:  Elders, wise in the interpersonal relationship and harmonious living are always around to sort things out:  Children learn to care for one another and filial piety: Such an atmosphere unfortunately is often absent in a nuclear family.  On the other hand more often than not parents are dual wage-earners. The little time they spend at home does not provide the sort of quality time conducive to reinforcing close rapport.  And children, if they are any, are often left to baby-sitters, while young adults are left to decide for themselves in any given situations.  It does not come as a surprise therefore to see young persons from well-to-do families making the wrong decision and falling victims to social ills, in this context dadah.

8.          Whilst todays project - "Syarahan Anti-Dadah" will no doubt achieve its objective amongst the target group, I would very much like to see more projects that are family centred.  I have mentioned this approach on a few occasions, and though I sound like an old gramaphone record.  I wish to reiterate that I personally believe that the family is the best institution to prevent any social ills among its members and subsequently the society.  Not just any family, but families with good social values, close rapport and deep in filial piety and quality interaction with one another.  With such families, social ills, dadah and what have you will be a thing of the past.

9.          Adik-adik dan para pelajar khususnya peserta-peserta yang telah mengambil penyertaan dalam Syarahan Anti-Dadah,  Syabas! diucapkan kerana anda telah tampil ke hadapan.  Namun saya tidak berpeluang untuk mendengar syarahan anda, saya boleh mengambarkan kehebatan anda dalam syarahan kerana saya difahamkan anda adalah wakil sekolah masing-masing.  Bagi saya, anda adalah wira kerana berani menerima cabaran dan sanggup melayangkan bendera sekolah masing-masing. Oleh kerana anda adalah wira dan pahlawan, cabaran dan ancaman daripada dadah dan anasir-anasir akan menjadi lebih hebat untuk memerangkap anda.  Justeru itu, anda perlu melengkapkan dan menambahkan diri untuk menangani masalah dadah.  Selain daripada mengambil berat nasihat-nasihat murni, sopan santun serta mengeratkan semangat silaturahim daripada ibu bapa dan tauladan daripada guru-guru, anda perlu bijak belaka untuk katakan tidak kepada dadah dan penyakit-penyakit sosial lain.

10.             Bagaimana anda boleh katakan tidak? Untuk menjawab soalan anda hanya perlu mengambil berat dan memberi perhatian kepada dua perkara berikut sahaja:-

(1)         Rakan-rakan sebaya anda.

            Mereka mungkin cuba mengubah cara pemikiran atau tingkahlaku anda dan mendorong anda untuk:-

(  i)       Ponteng sekolah
( ii)             Mencuri;
(iii)             Merosakkan harta benda;
(iv)             Mengenepikan nasihat ibu bapa atau tauladan para guru;
( v)             Bergaduh dan berkelahi dan
(vi)             Mencuba dadah; 

            dan

(2)         Kenali diri anda dengan dalam- Ini bermaksud anda mempunyai keyakinan;

(  i)             Menerima diri anda sendiri, termasuk kebaikan dan kelemahan;
( ii)             Menghormati diri serta orang lain;
(iii)        Merasa senang dengan diri dan orang lain;
(iv)             Mempercayai diri sendiri dan;
(v)             Membuat keputusan sendiri kerana anda tahu apa yang baik bagi anda semasa dan kelak. 

11.         Anda bukan sahaja wakil-wakil sekolah anda masing-masing tetapi juga harus menganggap diri sebagai contoh dan "role model" kepada rakan-rakan anda samada di kalangan sekolah atau di halaman rumah.  Selain daripada ini anda juga boleh memainkan peranan kelompok sokong-bantu kepada pihak-pihak tertentu.   Inilah satu cabaran saya kepada anda dan saya mempunyai penuh keyakinan anda pasti boleh.  Bolehkah?

12.             Sebelum saya mengakhiri ucapan saya, sekali lagi saya ingin merakamkan penghargaan saya kepada pihak-pihak penganjur kerana bukan sahaja telah tampil ke hadapan untuk memikul bersama-sama tugas berat Kerajaan untuk membendung masalah dadah tetapi juga telah memberi penghormatan dan kesempatan kepada saya hadir untuk menyempurnakan majlis pada pagi ini. Dan kepada mereka yang berjaya memenangi hadiah diucapkan tahniah dan kepada mereka yang kurang bernasib baik - bukan kalah cuba lagi apabila peluang mengizinkan.

13.         "Tanpa Dadah, Keluarga bahagia".  Sekian dan salam mesra.

Ke muka depan

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