Who Is Michael Tan

Rehab centre graduate Michael Tan was 25 when he found himself homeless after his mother kicked him out.

“She told me that my drug use had brought a lot of shame and heartbreak to the family,” said Tan, who then started sleeping rough and going door to door begging for money.

One day, he met a family who gave him a book, instead of cash.

“It was a story about an addict like me and it said, ‘God can make you higher than any drug can’,” recalled Tan, 60, who then underwent rehabilitation at a Christian care centre with the family’s aid.

It helped him to be drug-free, reconcile with his parents, and “face the world”.

Today, the father of two owns a successful architectural drafting company in Taiping, Perak, and has been drug-free for 35 years.

He shared his story at a Chinese New Year event organised by the Selangor Youth Community (SAY) to bring festive cheer to over 40 residents from three drug rehabilitation centres in the state.

Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who has taken on the task of helping ex-addicts like Tan re-enter society, said there was a need to ease their transition.

“Everyone makes mistakes. We should not frown upon them but support them to become better individuals. They can bring value and become assets to the community ” said Tengku Amir, who is patron of SAY.

“All successful people in this world keep saying that they have made so many mistakes in their lives but the key is to keep on getting up when you are down,” he said at the event at Gateway@KLIA2 mall yesterday.

The event also saw an MoU signed between NGO Malaysian Substance Abuse Council (Masac) and two companies, SEGI Value Holdings Sdn Bhd and Biforst Group, to provide job opportunities for ex-addicts post-rehab.

Selangor records the highest number of new drug addicts in the country, said Masac president Datuk Mohd Yunus Pathi.

A self-confessed former heroin addict, Mohd Yunus said most rehabilitated drug users relapse due to societal rejection and scarce job offers.

“The real issue in Malaysia is helping them come back to the community,” he said.

Tengku Amir and the residents later visited AirAsia’s training centre at the Asian Aviation Excellence Centre.