PERSES Collaboration with Dadah Itu Haram “Sepaktakraw Bebas Dadah” Event - Opening Remarks by Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development

1.    Thank you, PERSES and CNB, for inviting me to this event.

2.    I want to thank PERSES President Mohd Nasri bin Haron, board members, Team Managers, coaches as well as the fraternity, for supporting this very meaningful effort. This is very important, because we want to provide opportunities for everyone, especially our young, to have better lives ahead, and healthy lifestyles through sports.

3.    As you know, via the Dadah Itu Haram Campaign, we have been reaching out to more and more community partners. This campaign cannot be done by CNB and MHA alone. We need the community to come together to help us share the messages and increase awareness about saying no to drugs.

4.    We are very clear in Singapore that drugs are harmful. However, not all the information that our children, our youth and our sepaktakraw players here may be exposed to, is true. They may even observe some individuals having liberal attitudes towards drugs. When it comes to drugs, it is not simply about taking drugs. There are also elements of syndication and trafficking, which are complex and criminal. Once someone abuses drugs, he can become affected by these related criminal elements, and he may develop a propensity to crime. This will distract their journey towards healthy lifestyle.

5.    As such, it is important for us to come together, work together, and help our youth stay away from drugs, and continue living a healthy and wholesome lifestyle. We want our youths to join us in our preventive drug education efforts to help spread the message on the harms of drugs.

6.    I want to thank PERSES and all in the fraternity for working together with us. “Sepaktakraw Bebas Dadah” is a very powerful message, which is very much linked to what PERSES does with regard to connecting with the community and inspiring young people to do well and excel in sports, including sepaktakraw.

7.    We want each and every one of those interested in sepaktakraw to excel and bring pride to Singapore. Every individual in Singapore is important. We do not want anyone to destroy their future, their happiness, and that of their family, just because of drug abuse.

8.    It will not be easy, but with our conviction and our joint efforts, with people like you and me and the rest of us in the community, working together, we can help prevent more youths from falling to the harms of drugs.

9.    I would like to give my sincere thanks to all and PERSES especially, for making this event happen, and making a bold statement with “Sepaktakraw Bebas Dadah”. This is also a step in showing how the rest of the sports community can join us in this effort, because drugs are harmful for sportsmen, drugs will distract athletes from achieving excellence in sports, and drugs will disrupt and destroy families and society.

10.   I would like to extend my sincere thanks once again, and I hope everyone will help to spread the message. I hope you will spread the message to every single player, and that their family members will also spread the message that “Sepaktakraw Bebas Dadah”.

11.   Thank you once again, and I look forward to joining the rest of the activities.