Residents against AIDS centre

New Straits Times (16/07/07)

GEORGE TOWN: Some 2,000 Jelutong residents are calling for the relocation of the AIDS rehabilitation centre in their area.Residents who live along Jalan Selama, Jalan Taiping and Jalan Ooi Thiam Siew claimed that drug addicts who come to the Alternatif Community Centre (ACC) in Jalan Selama for fresh needles had turned two houses along the same stretch into vice dens.They also claimed that several people had been seen in the area selling drugs.

"We believe these addicts were responsible for the burning of a house and another which was partly destroyed recently," said businessman Azmi Ismail, 40.He said 50 addicts could be seen in the area between 11am and 1pm. Sundry shop owner Ong Lai Choon, 65, claimed that his house-cum-sundry shop had been broken into by addicts three times this year."During the incidents, I lost almost RM1,000 worth of cigarettes, some money and other items," said Ong.

Retiree Maimunah Yahya, 57, said residents were fully supportive of the initiative being carried out by the centre but felt that it should not have been located in a residential area.Assuring residents that their welfare and security would not be compromised, Jelutong MP Datuk Lee Kah Choon said he would look into their complaints.

The centre falls under the purview of the AIDS Action Research Group, which helps the Health Ministry to carry out a programme called the Harm Reduction Initiative. Under the ministry-funded initiative, the centre runs a needle exchange programme which provides fresh needles to intravenous drug users in an effort to reduce the spread of HIV among addicts.