PUTRAJAYA: The arrest of 12 people for alleged involvement in money politics is testimony that no one escapes from the law, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“The law of the country is the law of the country. No one can escape from it,” he said when commenting on the arrests of the 12 individuals in Pahang, including a senior politician.
He said while Umno had its own mechanism to deal with the issue through its disciplinary board, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was also free to conduct its own investigations.
“What is important is that both sides are working towards a common purpose,” he told a press conference after chairing the Drug Prevention Council meeting yesterday.
Newspapers yesterday reported that those arrested had allegedly accepted money from the senior politician, who is a former political secretary said to have engaged in money politics to ensure his election in the Umno polls in March.
On another matter, Najib said a more effective drug awareness campaign would be launched soon, with the focus on current trends and threats because users had shifted from the traditional “fix” of heroin or cannabis to syabu and ketamine.
“The Government is allocating RM5mil to the relevant non-governmental organisations and civil groups in our war against drug abuse.
“At the same time, we will beef up enforcement and security, particularly at entry points. Highly sophisticated scanning machines will be placed to be more effective in crippling drug smuggling attempts,” Najib said.
The Deputy Prime Minister also said that the Health Ministry had reported that the harm reduction programme on addicts using methadone was effective.
The Government would expand the programme to reduce the number of abusers sent to rehabilitation centres.
“For those who have been completely treated, we have various programmes in place to assist them,” he said.
Edited from The Star 23 Jan 09
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