‘Mothers Are the Same the World Over’ : Malaysians Share Drug Concerns With Nancy Reagan

Rohanin Mat, a Malaysian woman, buried her bandana-covered head in Nancy Reagan’s shoulder and cried.

“I hope my son will be all right,” Mat kept saying, wiping her nose with a tissue.

“I know, I know,” Mrs. Reagan replied.

The scene Saturday was a simple schoolroom with an unpainted concrete floor. Overhead fans did little to relieve the suffocating 95-degree heat.

Familiar Ring

It was the first meeting of the people in the room, and yet it seemed that First Lady Nancy Reagan had been here before. Was it Geneva? Bonn? Tampa?

It could have been any of those, or dozens of others. Once again, Mrs. Reagan set out to talk to parents whose children are addicted to drugs, this time on her four-stop tour of the Far East. And although the script always turns out to be amazingly the same, Nancy Reagan always sits on the edge of her chair, appearing to be hearing it for the first time and near tears herself.

“I think that probably comes from seeing a lot of mothers do exactly what she did, which was cry,” said Mrs. Reagan. “You know, mothers are the same the world over. No matter what country you’re in, what culture you’re in, this problem remains the same.”

As has Mrs. Reagan’s approach to it. In making drug abuse among youths her special project, she elected long ago to stick with what she describes as a mother-to-mother program, encouraging parents to become involved in volunteer parent groups.

Some Aspects Avoided

She avoids all political, social and legal aspects of the problem, lest she provoke criticism of her husband’s budget cuts, which have touched on such areas as health and law enforcement services.

Mrs. Reagan’s day in Kuala Lumpur also included a heavy dose of Malaysian culture, as well as a quick pep talk to the American Embassy staff here.

Later in the day, she flew to Bangkok, Thailand, where she will tour the Emerald Buddha Temple at the Grand Palace and take in more culture.

In Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Mrs. Reagan began the day by visiting a boarding school, where she sat in on a class lesson.

“Today we will discuss the problems of life,” the teacher, Rumini Amir, began.

And so they did, and of course drug abuse was the main topic.

As one young girl put it, the subject comes up in conversation with friends, “and you try to convince them that taking drugs is something very. . . ,” she groped for just the right word. “ . . . something very yuck!”

Taking drugs--or dadah , as the Malaysians call them--must be very yucky indeed. On the wall of the schoolroom was a poster that said, “Youth Is Too Precious. Do Not Waste It on Dadah.”

At the school, Mrs. Reagan also talked with Malaysian narcotics officials, parents of drug addicts and a young addict, who told Mrs. Reagan he had once been a banker.

“I was earning $1,000,” he said, “and all the $1,000 went to drugs.”

After the school visit, Mrs. Reagan had lunch with Malaysian First Lady Dr. Siti Hasmah and several women from volunteer groups.

Mrs. Reagan told the women that fighting drug abuse is frustrating but that they must take heart because it will be worth it even if they save one life.

To illustrate her point, she told them the story of a man who ran up and down a beach throwing starfish that had washed ashore back into the sea so they could live.

A younger man saw this and said to him, “But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish. How can your efforts make any difference?” Mrs. Reagan recounted.

“The old man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. ‘It makes a difference to this one,’ he said.”

Parents Vulnerable

Mrs. Reagan said fighting drug abuse among the young is especially difficult because “a child has the capability of hurting a parent like nobody else can ever hurt them.”

At the National Museum, Mrs. Reagan saw a glittering wedding ceremony display that resembled a room full of gold. She also saw some Malaysian folk dances and part of a shadow play, which was performed with elaborately carved puppets behind an illuminated screen of white cloth.

Throughout the long and scorchingly hot day, Mrs. Reagan appeared more cool and collected than those around her. Her Los Angeles hairdresser, Julius Bengtssen, who made the trip with her, said: “This is the worst weather for hair. I’m constantly rolling and rolling.”