Susanto stated that this measure is part of the government’s strong commitment to strengthening the Drug-Free Village program.
“We have planned this starting next year, every village head and official will undergo urine testing,” he remarked during an event to promote the program in Sancang Village here on Wednesday.
He stressed that the program aims to ensure that no village apparatus is involved in drug abuse.
“This is important because we aim to develop villages not only in terms of physical infrastructure but also its human quality,” he remarked.
He emphasized that village development must also include efforts to strengthen social resilience, including efforts to eliminate drug abuse down to the smallest rural communities.
“We must say no to drugs, even at the lowest layers of our villages,” he affirmed.
Meanwhile, Head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Commissioner General Marthinus Hukom, cautioned that drug distribution is no longer limited to urban areas but has also spread into rural regions.
According to BNN data, he reported that the number of drug users in Indonesia has reached 3.3 million people, or around 1.7 percent of the total population.
He noted that this figure is not merely a statistic but represents a dangerous social phenomenon that threatens national resilience.
“Some 3.3 million Indonesians are trapped in the grip of drug abuse. This is not just about numbers but also represents a potential market exploited by criminal syndicates,” he remarked.
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Translator: Rubby, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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