Published on: Sunday, April 24, 2005 |
Kuala Lumpur: Drug addicts can be cured of their habits if they were shown love and support through positive actions, according to the authors of the thesis "I Love You Darling" (ILYD), Evodia A. Iswandi and Hamzah Sidang Mohamad.
The thesis states that it is the absence of genuine love and care that propels former addicts to return to their old habits and that with love and affection, people can be protected from being lured into addiction.
"There is always the stigma: once an addict, always an addict. This is not true and we have proven that addicts can be helped by creating a positive environment in human relationship," Evodia said.
She had been hosting a radio show in Jakarta for the past year where callers asked for advice on dealing with their loved ones or their own problems of drug abuse. Some of the problems were used as case studies in the book.
Evodia, from Indonesia, is in Malaysia for the launching of the thesis by the Deputy Defence Minister, who is also Pemadam President, Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin at the Putra World Trade Centre, Saturday.
The book, first published in Bahasa Indonesia and English in Indonesia, was launched Saturday in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair.
Also present at the launch were the International Federation of Non-governmental Organisations for the Prevention of Drug and Substance Abuse (IFNGO) President Shirley Tissera, IFNGO Honorary Secretary Datuk Mustapha Ma and Pemadam Secretary-General Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim.
At a press conference after the launch, IFNGO Vice-President Datuk Idris Ibrahim called on corporate groups or individuals to sponsor the purchase of the books for libraries in schools and universities nationwide.
"We would like each school library to have at least one copy of the book in their collection so that the students can benefit from it," he said, adding that sponsors can get a tax exemption on the purchase.
ILYD can be purchased at the book fair for RM25 a copy or at the Pemadam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.- Bernama
