Speech by President Halimah Yacob at SANA's 50th Anniversary Gala Celebrations

Mrs Gillian Koh-Tan, SANA President

Members of the SANA Board of Management

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to be here to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of SANA.

I would like to express my appreciation to SANA for its pivotal role over the past 50 years in complementing the Government’s fight against drugs.

Singapore has been successful in keeping our drug situation under control, and in reducing re-offending. Our two-year recidivism rate for the 2019 release cohort, reached its lowest in 30 years, at 20%. There is no doubt that SANA played an important role in that.

SANA has come a long way since its establishment in 1972. In the 1970s, the hippie culture led to the prevalent abuse of cannabis and heroin in Singapore, particularly among the young. The Central Narcotics Bureau, or CNB, was set up in 1971 to lead the fight against drug trafficking and drug abuse.

SANA was subsequently set up in August 1972, to complement the work of the CNB, particularly in educating the public on the dangers of drug abuse and providing recovering abusers with counselling and aftercare services.

It is heart-warming to see how SANA has grown from its humble beginnings to what it is today. SANA started out with an office less than a thousand square feet in size, located in the clinic of its first President, Dr Tow Siang Hwa. It also had to operate within a limited budget.

Motivated by its vision of a drug-free Singapore, SANA has since grown to establish a strong community network of partners and volunteers, with a dedicated team of aftercare case managers. SANA’s Case Management Services programmes now serve about 450 clients annually. SANA also runs three walk-in centres called Step-Up Centres.

Today, SANA plays a very important role in the fight against drugs, specifically in three areas: Preventive Drug Education (PDE), aftercare support to recovering drug abusers, and advocacy for Singapore’s harm prevention approach at international platforms.

First, on PDE. SANA introduced the Anti-Drug and Inhalant Abuse Badge Scheme in 1977, which was later renamed the SANA Badge Scheme. The scheme focuses on spreading anti-drug messages through secondary school students from the Uniformed Groups. As a testament to its continued success, this scheme continues to garner an annual participation of over 4,000 students.

Since the 1980s, SANA has been proactively organising Anti-Drug campaigns to address worrying trends of substance abuse and to increase awareness of the dangerous effects of substance abuse. In 2018, I launched SANA’s latest anti-drug campaign, the Rise Above Campaign, which seeks to engage youths meaningfully on drug issues.

SANA has also started to bring together ex-abusers to support its PDE efforts under the SANA Peer Leaders programme. The Peer Leaders programme is aimed at grooming former abusers to serve as peer mentors to help other recovering persons stay drug-free.   

I would like to share the story of one such Peer Leader, Mr Mohamed Nor bin Ismail, also known as “Kino” to his family and friends. Kino is the Founder and Director of Amani Services Pte Ltd and Amani Weddings Pte Ltd. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry. 

Kino started experimenting with drugs and got involved in secret societies when he was just 9 years old. He started with inhalant abuse, before moving on to cannabis and heroin. Kino repeatedly went in and out of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre and prison for various drug offences, including drug trafficking.

His wake-up call came when he narrowly escaped the gallows for drug trafficking. He then resolved to stay drug-free, and has since been drug-free for 22 years. In 2019, Kino joined the SANA Peer Leaders programme to share his journey recovering from addiction and to mentor younger ex-abusers in staying drug-free. Kino also supports SANA’s drug prevention programmes by reaching out to youths and creating awareness of the harms of drugs. He is truly a role model and inspiration to all recovering addicts.

The second area that I want to acknowledge SANA’s contribution in is on the rehabilitation and reintegration of drug abusers, as well as supporting their families. During my past visits to rehabilitation centres, including The Turning Point in 2019 and the Selarang Halfway House in 2021, I witnessed first-hand the importance of such centres. Rehabilitation centres provide residents with essential support and help them reintegrate into society, so that they do not go back to their old ways.

SANA’s work in this area began in 1977, when SANA recruited, trained and mobilised 1,000 Volunteer Aftercare Officers (VAOs) in less than 5 months. This was done to provide counselling support to the first batch of drug abusers arrested during an island-wide anti-drug operation by CNB.

The recruitment of VAOs was stepped up in 1978. By the end of 1978, the number of VAOs was almost 1,800, handling around 1,000 cases every month. They provided aftercare support to the ex-drug abusers released from the drug rehabilitation centres, and conducted religious activities for those undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in the centres.

Today, SANA continues to provide aftercare support to aid the reintegration of ex-abusers through the SANA Religious Group of Volunteers, or RGV, and SANA Befrienders programme, widely known as the Kakis programme.

One such volunteer is Mr. Gopalakrishnan Nair. He has spent 14 years volunteering with SANA, providing religious in-care counselling to inmates, under the RGV. As a testament to his invaluable contributions, he was conferred the Minister for Home Affairs National Day Award in 2021.

Over the course of his time as a volunteer, Mr Gopalakrishnan has helped former drug abusers and their families by providing spiritual support to encourage and motivate ex-abusers to persevere in their addiction recovery journey.

Mr Gopalakrishnan’s enthusiasm is exemplified by the innovative ways in which he engages former abusers, such as through music and spiritual reflections. He also proactively shares feedback and ideas with SANA on ways to enhance aftercare support for SANA clients.

I take this opportunity to thank Mr Gopalakrishnan and all SANA volunteers for their dedication to the anti-drug cause. They are a key pillar supporting SANA’s efforts for a drug-free society.

It is heartening to note that SANA continues to tailor its services to meet the needs of their clients. About a quarter of SANA’s clients are female former abusers. To better support them in their rehabilitation journey, SANA runs female support groups that focus on topics such as female empowerment and motherhood. SANA also actively recruits female Peer Leaders who are better able to relate and support these women in their recovery. 

SANA’s support also extends to the families of abusers and ex-abusers. In 2015, SANA was appointed as the Managing Agent for the Yellow Ribbon Community Project (YRCP). YRCP is a grassroots-led initiative where trained volunteers engage the families of offenders to offer social support. SANA has engaged all 93 Grassroots divisions to get on board the YRCP and works closely with the Singapore Prison Service to provide assistance to the families of abusers and ex-abusers.

I am encouraged to see that SANA has maintained its innovative spirit over the years, by continuously transforming to serve the needs of its clients.

One such project is the Step-Up Centre, a one-stop facility incorporating essential aftercare support services and recovery support groups, all under one roof. The first two Step-Up centres, located at Sengkang Community Hub and Taman Jurong, have served close to 2,400 clients through the various programmes over the past seven years.

The third key area of SANA’s work is advocacy for Singapore’s harm prevention approach on drugs at international platforms. We are increasingly seeing more countries decriminalising drug use and legalising drugs such as cannabis for recreational use. Against this backdrop, SANA has taken its efforts overseas, playing an important role in the international discourse on drugs. SANA has established a strong international profile, being a member of the International Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) since 1981 and actively participating at various regional and international conferences.

In 2018, SANA was accorded the Special Consultative Status as a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Since then, SANA has been an active contributor during events held by the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs, or CND. For instance, since the 62^nd CND in 2019, SANA has delivered statements which profiled Singapore’s harm prevention approach against drugs and its role in supporting the Government’s efforts. SANA has also organised side-events with other like-minded NGOs to share best practices.

Through its international advocacy work, SANA has been able to explain the importance of Singapore’s drug abstinence approach and share SANA’s aspirations for a drug-free Singapore with an international audience.

In closing, I would like to once again thank SANA for playing an important role in our fight against drugs over the past five decades. In particular, I would like to thank past and present SANA’s staff, volunteers and Board Members who have been, and continue to be, instrumental in SANA’s success. I am confident that SANA will continue to be an important partner in the years ahead.

Thank you.