Law or Education? Answer, We Need it Both

By Horizonline

I refer to RPK's “The Chinamen Are Not That Innocent Either” article. It seems that many people are not happy with his article this time, mainly because the article has two keywords on it, “Chinese” and “Alcohol”. Am I wrong about this?

I agree that education is better than law enforcements regarding the alcoholic drinks issue, but I do not agree that most Malaysians know what this 'education' really means. I stand beside RPK this time. I really think that the law should, after all, be stricter in this issue.

I did some research on articles in the net. The results are pretty ugly, you know. For some of you who are not really interested in reading a long and windy article like this, let me highlight some interesting facts from it:

·         Malaysia is the tenth largest consumer of alcohol in the world. Malaysia boleh!

·         Beer consumption in Malaysia at 11 litres per capita is comparable to European countries. In a wrong way.

·         Carlsberg AS of Denmark views Malaysia as a very important and attractive market. I swear

I saw their pupils turn green, with Dollar signs printed on it. Like our politicians.

·         Alcohol advertising is permitted in cinemas, video cassettes and the print media although it is restricted over the broadcast media and on billboards except East Malaysia. Sponsorship activities are also allowed.

·         They are targeting the Malaysian poor. They create more poverty. You're rich, right?

·         They are making misleading claims about health benefits from alcohol. In short they are lying to you.

·         45% of Malaysian youth under 18 consume alcohol regularly. Education really helps, yeah?

·         Designer alcoholic drinks with attractive brands and packaging are targeting our teenagers, or your son, or your daughter, or your grandson. You list it.

·         30% of road accidents nationwide are caused by drunk-driving. Hey, does it mean that 70% of them are caused by non-drinkers? So it is safe to drink after all?

·         Alcohol creates a lot of domestic problems in Malaysia. So?

·         License is not required to sell beer in bottles and cans. So they can easily sell it to your kids.

The article was written in 2001, mind you. It may be even worse now.

I will not bother to list the race that is mostly associated with alcoholic problems. This is because I hope we Malaysians see this as our problems, and thinking of a way to solve it together. This is not just about law, this is not about the religions, this is not about sensitivities of other races, this is about our own people, our own nation.

Maybe some of you will list out some health benefits of alcoholic drinks for the sake of argument. Well, most of them are myths. These are some of them:

Myth: Alcohol reduces the risk of heart disease.

Truth: It's true, but only half true. Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower risk of heart disease. However, higher intakes increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, certain types of cancers, accidents, violence, suicide, birth defects, and well, death.

Myth: Alcohol stimulates appetite.

Truth: It's true, for non-heavy drinkers anyway. It has an opposite effect on those who drink excessively. Heavy drinkers tend to substitute alcohol for food, so they tend to eat poorly.

Myth: Alcohol is legal therefore is not a drug.

Truth: Sadly, it is indeed a drug – a substance that alters one of more bodily functions. It is legal only for adults and persons over 21 of age. Hey, the drugs are for sold in 7-11!

Myth: Beer does not contain much alcohol so they don't contribute to alcoholism..

Truth: Alcoholism is not related to the type of beverage; but the amount and frequency of consumption. Remember 45% of Malaysian youth under 18 consume alcohol regularly?

You can read more here.

I'm not calling for alcoholic drinks to be banned in Malaysia, I'm just saying that it should be controlled by stricter law to prevent the abuse by the younger generation. It's sad for me to see underaged drunkards wandering around among us.

After all alcoholic drinks do more harm than good in aspects of health and society.