A total of 200 youth from five regencies in Bail are participating in a special training program recruiting young cadres to join the “fight against drugs” on the island, signaling the government’s strategy to ‘start them on the right path early.’
The training, organized by Indonesia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, took place on Monday at the Bali Grand Mega Hotel in Denpasar and involved recruits from Denpasar, Klungkung, Tabanan, Gianyar, and Badung.
“The goal is to prepare them mentally and increase cadre knowledge about the dangers of drugs, while forming a forum or movement to counteract the destructive dangers of drugs,” Yari Isnaini, head of the event committee, told Tribun Bali.
This anti-narcotics youth cadre training has been held for the past three years, says Arifin, the ministry’s assistant deputy for youth insight improvement.
The training program was launched as a response to President Joko Widodo’s previous statement, that Indonesia was in the midst of a “drug emergency,” says Arifin.
“Because of our emergency drug status, the ministry and the committee are committed to conducting this kind of training to participate in eradicating drug trafficking. And thank God, this event has entered its third year across various provinces in Indonesia,” he said at the event’s opening.
The head of the Bali division of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Brig. Gen. I Putu Gede Suastawa previously stated that data shows that drug abuse cases in Bali have declined, dropping the island’s ranking from 11th to 23rd place on the national level.
“However, Bali remains an easy target for drug abuse actors, with tourism activities,” Republika quoted Suastawa as saying.
According to data from BNN, in collaboration with the Indonesia Center for Health Research, the prevalence of drug abuse in Bali in 2017 decreased 0.4 percent of the population, from 2.02 down to 1.62 percent. The number of addicts decreased from 62,457, down to 50,539 people, reports Republika.
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