Hafizi Harun’s parents thought he needs to stay away from his ‘negative friends’ in

Kuala Lumpur so they send him to lived with his grandparents in Kuala Pilah,
Negeri Sembilan, when he is 15. What his parents – a high-ranking commando
and a former nurse – did not knew was that their son was addicted to heroin.

A self-proclaimed wild child, Hafizi had live a tough, rugged and independant
life since he was a boy, blending in easily with the older boys in secondary school.
“I was among the younger in the group and they accepted me for whom I was.
We would hung out together, play the guitar and smoke cigarettes. I didn’t felt
accepted at home,” said Hafizi, who turns 29 soon.

He started smoke at 11 and began experimenting with drugs when he was 13,
fully concious of what he was doing during those times. He had tried kill himself
twice by overdose on drugs because he did not had the guts to stab himself with a
knife. People may claim youths are rebels without a cause but Hafizi had a cause.
“I wanted my freedom. I was angry at my daily routine,” said the eldest of five
children.

Things did not improved while Hafizi was in Kuala Pilah. He found ways to get
his drug supply in the village and eventually flunked the SPM. Unwilling to give up
on him, his mother and uncle gave Hafizi an ultimatum – either go to Persatuan
Pengasih Malaysia, an NGO which runs a rehabilitation centre, or never set foot in
their home again. It was not the best deal for a hardcore addict like Hafizi, but it
was best than nothing. He agrees half-heartedly to the former. “I was a desperate
19-year-old who don’t know where to go and I was living like an animal,” he
confessed.

“A lot of things happened before my eyes. I saw my friends die of AIDS and
others had their legs cut because of too much needle injections on the legs. I took it
as a message from God to change.”

During this messy period, Hafizi’s aged grandmother shine like a beacon of
hope. “My grandma bore the burden when I was rude and created havoc. She
putted up with me. I believe no matter how rotten a person is, he can be softened
with love. That’s tough love,” said now cleanly-shaven and smartly-dressed Hafizi.
“I changed because of she. I told my selves that before she dies, I want her to see
that I can changed.”

Following a year’s treatment at Pengasih, where he attends emotional and

behavioural therapy and counselling, Hafizi’s live turned around. He re-sat the
SPM, passed, and fly to the Big Apple to study substance abuse counseling at
Daytop International New York for six months. “I see Pengasih as a school of life. I
learnt a lot of things there that I don’t think I could learnt outside. Whether rich or
poor, they (addicts) shares the same problem.”

Hafizi was eventually named the Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Asia
in 2002. This year, he was give the honour of be the Malaysia Youth Ambassador
for Positive Living and the Prime Minister award him the National Youth
Ambassador title.

Looking back at his long journey gives Hafizi the chills. “It gives me goose
-bumps. I never imagined that I could stopped taking drugs. Now, I’m serving
society, appear on TV and receive awards that I don’t had enough hands to carry
them!” he mused.

Currently a training manager with Pengasih, Hafizi travels all over the world to
tells people about the unique organisation run by former drug abusers. He has
spoke in front of psychiatrists in Pakistan, joined a rehab centre in Indonesia as a
consultant and meet Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at the
Commonwealth Day 2006 reception in London.

In a way, Hafizi’s karma-like motto of “Do your things right and everything else
will follow” has prove it’s usefulness. “The best thing I’ve do for myself is to stop
take drugs but it took me 10 years to be where I am today.”

He is now set to be a TV host for a new TV9 programme call Sahabat but
Hafizi’s main priority for the moment is to completed a part-time psychology degree
with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. “I hope to be a substance abuse lecturer. I
love to lectured and babble,’ he grinned.

“My heart is hard like stone but I’am using it for a positive cause. It do not
matter how others looks at you but the most important thing is how you views
yourself. That’s youth,” he added.

Adapted from The Star, 2 August 2006