Metro

Monday May 12, 2008

Port Dickson folks irked by youths' out of control behaviour at rave event

BY SARBAN SINGH


Residents of Port Dickson are unhappy that the seaside town is being used by certain quarters to promote booze, drugs and promiscuity among the young.

Port Dickson assemblyman M Ravi said a recent wild party at the seaside was a real shocker to him and the community here. He said that such parties did more damage to the young than promote tourism.

“I made a surprise visit to a so called world music event in the wee hours of Saturday morning and what I saw was shocking.

“Thousands of teenagers, many drunk and wearing skimpy clothing were misbehaving and some were even involved in substance abuse,” he claimed.

Still got time to party: Several youths who were not ready to call it a day despite it being 4am in the morning.

Ravi said he had lodged a police report prior to the event to express his and the local residents unhappiness over the event being held in Port Dickson.

Checks with police later revealed that 30 youths were detained for substance abuse.

Ravi said each individual was charged RM113 to enter the area of the event that was a held at a resort along Jalan Pantai. He said many foreigners were also present at the event.

“Some of the teenagers are university students. Techno music was blasting in the air despite it being wee hours in the morning. Most of them looked sedated and were mumbling and I could tell that they were not in full grasp of their senses,” said Ravi.

He also expressed his unhappiness over several youths still loitering the area until 5am.

“This is absurd. We want to promote PD but this is not the right way. Some youths were too drunk that they had to be carried to their cars,” he claimed.

He also added that the show organisers were not able to give a satisfactory answer when he enquired about the youths still hanging around in the area till wee hours in the morning.

“I have received many complaints from the people and we must put a stop to this. We should not condone such activities here,” said Ravi.

According to the organiser's website, the two day event themed '2 Days of Freedom' was supposed to be a 'fusion of music, visual arts, cuisine and beach activities'.

Tickets for the event were sold in the Klang Valley and was limited to those above 18 years.

One party goer when met said two stages were erected in an open area where youths were dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

“It was sort of a rave party and I must say that it was a culture shock to me. There were many youths who were consuming alcohol,” she said.

Oblivious to his surroundings: Two teenagers trying to wake a 'fallen' mate.

She said it also made little sense to see some female teenagers wearing swimsuits and other skimpy clothing although it was 4am.

“When I asked them if their parents knew if they were here, they shied away. Most of them are from Kuala Lumpur,” she said.

A friend of hers said it was quite a sight to see several youths lying on the ground clearly intoxicated.

“Medical people were on standby but some of the party goers were too hysterical. Beers were sold openly and some had been drinking for hours,” he said.

Ravi said the authorities should not treat the matter lightly.

“If the idea is to promote PD, then we can do without such events since it creates such a bad image,” he said

He said government departments which give out permits for such events should not “close an eye” when granting permits as this would be tantamount to endorsing social ills.

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