Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has raised concerns over a disturbing trend: Children as young as 10 are being targeted with drug-laced sweets. This revelation comes amid alarming data indicating that Malaysia is facing a critical surge in drug addiction, with cases steadily increasing since last year. We discuss why children are being targeted, how profit-hungry drug syndicates exploit the most vulnerable, and policy shifts that needs to happen to dismantle these networks with Palani Narayanan, director of the Drug Policy Program of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation.

Other stories we covered:

• Is using our ICs to access our social media safe?: The Communications Ministry recommended all social media platforms implement the e-KYC verification system which ensures users identities are verified before they can access the platform. While this seems like a good way to protect users from investment scams and keep children under 13 off of social media, concerns have risen about handing personal information to privately-owned social media platforms. We discuss these concerns with Raymon Ram, president of Transparency International Malaysia.

• Celebrating the International Week of Deaf People: This year's theme aims to raise awareness on the importance of improving human rights, education and accessibility for deaf people, as well as raise the status of national sign languages. We speak to Wan Zuraidah Abu, Head of Sign Language Interpreting Services for the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf about the lack of access to training for sign language interpreters and the importance of recognising the language nationwide.

• World's smallest snake re-discovered: 20 years after being declared “lost to science” since its last sighting in the Caribbean, the Barbados threadsnake was recently rediscovered by a group of scientists as part of a conservation project. Among other factors, one reason why the snake disappeared in the first place was due to deforestation. We unpack its impact on endemic species like the threadsnake with Associate Professor Evan Quah, a herpetologist from the Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation at Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

• Are Malaysian RnRs actually great?: American travel vlogger Terry Pernell, who recently visited Malaysia, praised a highway rest stop in Terengganu in one of his latest videos, highlighting its impressive facilities and the comfort he experienced. So we trade stories about the best parts of local RnRs.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan, Sudais Ferhard, Sitara Darini, Tee Shiao Eek

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Dashran Yohan

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Categories:  travel,  environment,  Law/Activism,  education,  technology,  politics,  government,  Family/Parenting,  controversies,  health policy

Tags:  r&r,  tourist,  barbados,  snakes,  deforestation,  international week of the deaf,  sign language,  social media,  drug addiction,  children,