Drugs are not merely a social or law enforcement issue but a national security threat that weakens families, undermines public safety and fuels transnational organised crime, Brunei’s Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (Security and Law) Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Sufian Haji Sabtu said.
Speaking at the ninth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drug Matters (AMMD), held virtually on October 15, he highlighted that 42 per cent of drug-related arrests over the past year involved individuals below the age of 35.
“These are young lives, and they tell us that we must intervene earlier and with greater precision,” he said.
The minister stressed that no country could confront the threat alone, citing a joint operation in 2025 involving seven enforcement agencies from five countries, including Brunei, which seized nearly 110 kilogrammes of methylamphetamine.
He also emphasised the importance of supporting recovery, saying that individuals who chose that path deserved support and a genuine second chance.
The meeting, chaired by Dangerous Drugs Board of the Philippines chairman Oscar F. Valenzuela, supported extending the implementation period of the ASEAN Work Plan on Securing Communities Against Illicit Drugs 2016–2025 to allow outstanding activities to be completed while the Philippines finalised its review of the plan.
It also took note of the joint ASEAN statement delivered by the Philippines at the 69th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, reflecting the region’s collective position on the global drug problem.
Among the meeting’s key outcomes were the adoption of a concept note on updating Annex I of the ASEAN Charter concerning the nomenclature of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters, and guidelines on practices and protocols for the AMMD and its subsidiary mechanisms.
The meeting also commemorated ASEAN Drug Victims Remembrance Day for the first time, paying tribute to those affected by drug abuse.
The meeting was preceded by the Preparatory ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Drug Matters on 14 October. Myanmar will chair the 10th AMMD.
The Brunei delegation was led by the minister and included Permanent Secretary (Security and Law) at the Prime Minister’s Office Awang Zulhusam Haji Abdul Samad, Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office and Narcotics Control Bureau Director Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Zalani Haji Ismail, and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Narcotics Control Bureau.