A total of 3,229 senior citizens aged 60 and above were detected to be involved in drug abuse during the first half of this year, highlighting the persistent challenge of addiction among older Malaysians.
Malaysian Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the oldest drug user detected was a 63-year-old man who was arrested during an operation in Besut in June.
He said the elderly man, who was using a wheelchair and wearing adult diapers when detained, admitted that he had been unable to overcome his addiction to yaba pills after becoming involved with drugs about 35 years ago.
“Those aged 60 and above account for 2.5 per cent of the approximately 130,000 individuals detected to be involved in drug abuse nationwide up to June.
“However, the figure has declined slightly compared with 4,311 people recorded during the same period last year,” he said after officiating the Hulu Terengganu AADK office today.
Despite the decline among senior citizens, Ruslin said drug abuse remained most prevalent among those aged between 31 and 59, with 92,590 individuals recorded during the period.
He said the group represented 71.1 per cent of the total number of people detected to be involved in drug abuse nationwide.
“The use of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, yaba pills and ecstasy is a growing concern, accounting for more than 73 per cent,” he said.
The figures underline how drug addiction continues to affect people across different age groups, with synthetic substances remaining a major concern for enforcement and prevention agencies.
