Kota Kinabalu:
Upko Youth wants the Government to get to the root of the Syabu menace in Sabah.
Its chief, Donald Mojuntin, said there is ample proof to show that the Syabu menace in Sabah can be traced to the existence of the six Filipino refugee resettlement schemes, namely, in Telipok, Kinarut, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau and Labuan.
"The Filipino refugees and syabu, in fact, are one and the same," he said, in a statement, Wednesday in response to recent incidences involving a few female students in Ranau who were caught allegedly indulging in prostitution to get their supply of syabu as well as the arrests of five civil servants at the Kinarut refugee resettlement scheme.
Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, was quoted as saying that female students in Ranau are prostituting themselves to get their fix of syabu.
Upko Youth believes that any attempt to overcome the syabu menace in Sabah must involve the resolution of the continued presence of the Filipino refugees in the State, said the Penampang MP.
Mojuntin said since the presence of the Filipino refugees in Sabah has now been associated with syabu addiction, besides being classified as a security problem. It is an opportune time for the Government do something about it.
"Upko Youth shares the concern of Masidi on syabu addiction, especially in Ranau, and we hope he will bring the matter up to the attention of the State Government at the earliest Cabinet meeting," he said.
