President Sets Target To Rehabilitate 200 Thousand Drug Addicts

Jakarta, June 26 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) symbolically officiated a groundbreaking ceremony of seven drug rehabilitation centers in seven Indonesian cities to realize the target of rehabilitating 200 thousand drug addicts next year. "Last year, 18 thousand drug addicts were rehabilitated while this year, we target to increase to the figure to 100 thousand, and next year, it should reach 200 thousand. We should double the number, as the number of drug addicts continues to increase," Jokowi remarked at the State Palace, here while commemorating International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Friday. The rehabilitation centers to be managed by the Social Affairs Ministry will be built in South Sumatra, East Java, Jambi, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, and North Maluku. Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa noted that the ministry has accredited 118 rehabilitation centers called IPWLs, with a maximal capacity to rehabilitate 15,870 drug addicts. It will be a challenge to meet the target set by the president, as not every drug addict voluntarily seeks to undergo rehabilitation. She called on all drug addicts to report to the IPWLs to undergone rehabilitation. "Later, they will receive IPWL cards, so that they would not be arrested," Khofifah noted. According to Chief of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) Commissioner General Anang Iskandar, drug addicts are not criminals, and therefore, they should not be detained in jails. Instead, they need mental and physical rehabilitation, he emphasized. President Jokowi has declared a war against illicit drugs, as they affect the physical and mental health of the people, thereby hindering the nation's competitiveness and progress in the long run. "There is no other way but to declare a war against illicit drugs," President Jokowi stated while speaking during the commemoration. The number of victims of drug abuse in the country reaches 4.1 million, or 2.2 percent of the total population. Material losses due to drug abuse amount to Rp63 trillion. "Drug-related crimes are categorized as extraordinary and serious crimes. Moreover, drug crimes are transnational and organized crimes, so they pose a concrete threat that require serious and urgent handling," he affirmed. Therefore, the fight against illicit drugs should involve every stakeholder and not solely the BNN.