KUALA LUMPUR: At this small flat in the popular Bukit Bintang area of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, 6 former university students sit in their underwear, attempting to receive the wind blowing from the three fans they have set up. It's dark, the walls are barren, with holes marking the side where a television set had been perched. “We sold the television last week so we could score,” said one of the four girls present. “This is our life right now. We go from score to score and have sold all our belongings.” While drug abuse is not common across Malaysia, for young addicts, life has become extremely difficult. The girls have all sold themselves for sex in order to earn enough money to get their next fix, they told Bikyamasr.com. “There was no money, so the quick solution was to just get money from sex and so many men in this country are ready to pay for it,” the woman added. She, like the other five in the flat, was a university student only last year, but once she got into drugs, methamphetamine and heroin, life changed. And it changed fast. “I was going to be a teacher and was in my third year, but I found I loved to get high and be with my friends, so I dropped out and haven't been able to get back to school,” said the 21-year-old who said her name was Ana. “I don't like myself, my life or what is happening, but getting the score is the most important right now,” she said, pointing to the table strewn with an assortment of drugs and other intoxicants that the 6 young people take in on an hourly basis. But for Mariam and Mohammad, 20-year-olds and a couple, they want to change. “We have been through too much and it is time we get out of this, but we don't know where to go,” argued Mohammad, who admitted the pair had been paid to have sex for show for businessmen in the country. It earned them over RM2,000 – enough for a week of drugs. “At least we were doing it together,” added Mariam. Across the country, social workers told Bikyamasr.com they have established a number of safe houses for drug users in an effort to assist them with returning to society and getting clean. For private psychologist Lina Ahmad, working with youth has become her life. She told Bikyamasr.com that she has helped over a dozen young people get clean and make a life for themselves after drug addiction. “It is so difficult because you cannot convince someone who is struggling for their next fix or who is going through withdrawals to take that first step,” she began. “But once they do, we have great social programs established across Malaysia that are helping people get over their addiction and return to life as citizens.” For her, who has seen Malaysian youth hit rock bottom, that first step is the most important. “If they are ready and want to change, we can really help them, but if they have any desire to continue their lifestyle, it is hard.” Mohammad and Mariam have tried once before to quit, but were unable to. “We just wanted to get high again and couldn't stay in the facility,” said Mariam. But now, these young people seem to have realized that they are at their lowest. After weeks of little eating their bodies are showing signs of malnutrition, their bones are beginning to protrude from their skin. “I don't think we can continue this much longer, but getting high is all I think about,” chimed in the youngest of the group, 18-year-old Sunitra, who left her parents' home and is now living on the floor of the flat. “We are trying to make changes, but it is hard to overcome,” she added. Like Singapore to the south, social stigma on drug users is a difficult aspect to overcome, added Ahmad, but once the users get over this, “there are many people accepting of people who have made changes in their lives for the better and this is a positive sign for Malaysia.” Those like Ahmad are there to help and she hopes that young people like Mariam and Mohammad and their group of friends in this Kuala Lumpur flat will seek assistance in the near future. ** This article is part of Bikyamasr.com's “The Needle” series looking at youth drug use across the globe.
