‘Alcoholics need help, not punishment’

A member of AA Malaysia says he's saddened by a report about a woman found bound in chains.

PETALING JAYA: A recovering alcoholic has decried the recently reported abuse of a woman who was allegedly craving a drink.

Requesting that he be identified only as an “elder member” of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Malaysia, he said the public needed to be reminded that people suffering from alcoholism should be helped and not subjected to cruel treatment.

“Alcoholism is recognised as a disease by the World Health Organisation,” he pointed out.

He was commenting on a news report about a 26-year-old woman found bound in chains near the Serdang Jaya 3K complex last Sunday. Yesterday, police said her mother had come forward to admit that she was the one who chained her up. “She claimed her daughter was a drunk,” Serdang police chief Megat Mohd Aminuddin Alias was quoted as saying in a news report.

“It is really sad if the woman was chained because she was an alcoholic,” the AA member said. “This is not the way to deal with an alcoholic.

“About 13 years ago, I heard about an alcoholic who was chained up and it got me angry. A friend and I spoke to the alcoholic. After some time, we got him out of it.”

He said many people wrongly thought of alcoholics as people who would get drunk and lie in the streets.

“An alcoholic is someone who is addicted to alcohol rather than someone looking for a high,” he said.

He urged those who believed they were alcoholics and those who were acquainted with alcoholics to contact AA Malaysia for help.

“We are alcoholics too,” he said. “AA’s position is, ‘If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop and can’t, then try AA.’ We can help. No fees or dues. Our primary purpose is to stop drinking and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.”

He said AA, through its weekly meetings, had helped many alcoholics quit the habit, some more quickly than others.

“It took me four years to get sober, but now I’ve been sober for 20 years,” he said.

“At AA meetings we talk to one another and support each other.

“AA neither endorses nor opposes any causes. We have found a way out from this drinking madness and wish to share our experience with others who have the same problem.”

For more information on AA Malaysia, visit www.aamalaysia.org. -FMT