Sarawak’s deputy Chief Minister has just issued a stirring call, without saying who is to do what it calls for. He wants, no less, to eradicate alcohol use, smoking and use of narcotics among that notorious den of iniquity;Sarawak’s youth!

Of course substance abuse occurs in Sarawak just as it does in other parts of Malaysia but the question is why so senior a politician should have picked it out as a major Sarawakian problem. As a Dayak himself he should be aware that many of his own tribal customs lead inevitably to the sort of problems which he condemns.

Furthermore he should also be well aware that such habits form easily among those who have little or nothing to do. What has he, and his fellow timbercrats, done to guide the State’s youth into more responsible ways? Too busy supporting mega criminal Taib to have time for other domestic problems?

It is faintly hopeful to hear that Sarawak’s governing clique notice anything beyond the price of timber and how to get a bigger share from stealing the State’s natural wealth, but action, not words, is what is needed to correct decades of criminal misgovernment. Think about that Minister Uggah