KUALA LUMPUR: It is extremely hard for drug addicts to kick the habit, but it can be done provided one has a strong will to do so, say singers Wan Aminuddin Wan Ismail and Mohd Rohaizad Mohd Lazim.
The two singers, quoted in a Harian Metro report today, said that it had not been an easy journey for them to move on without falling back into the dark hole where they had once been.
Wan Aminuddin, a.k.a. Ameng, 55, was found guilty in 2011 for drug abuse and was sentenced to six years' imprisonment and 10 strokes of the rotan.
However, due to good behaviour, he was released in 2016.
In retrospect, he said that serving the sentence had a sobering effect on him.
"Especially the rotan, it was really painful. In fact, the scar it left will be with me until I die," he said.
He was glad that he was blessed with the will and strength to move on with his life and to follow the right path this time.
Meanwhile, Mohd Rohaizad a.k.a. Ezad, 45, who was fined RM3,500 and had been put under National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) supervision for two years for possessing 0.3 grammes of methamphetamine in 2014, agreed with Ameng that the rehabilitation process he had gone through was the most valuable lesson in his life.
"Apart from having inner strength, one also needs great support from family and friends. And one must be ready to change his life for the better.
"Only those who had gone through it would understand how hard it is. That is why we have agencies such as AADK and Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Centre (Puspen), that can help people with their addiction," said Ezad, who added that getting close to God had also helped him.