Actor Jackie Chan (L) and Singapore's Minister of Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli (C) attend the appointment ceremony in Singapore's Nanyang Polytechnic, on May 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
Movie star Jackie Chan was named as Singapore's first celebrity anti-drug ambassador on Thursday, announced Singapore's Minister of Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli at the launch of a new anti-drug mobile application.
Minister Masagos said although Jackie Chan has a busy working schedule, he agreed to support Singapore's anti-drug efforts without any hesitation, and he hope Jackie Chan can inspire young Singaporeans to always say no to drugs.
"We all have a part to play in the fight against drugs. Everyone has a responsibility to spread the anti-drug message." said Masagos.
Jackie Chan, who has also been China's anti-drug ambassador since 2009, said his father told him to be away from drugs, gangsterdom and gambling when he was young. He agreed with what his father had said and wanted to share his father's words with young people.
He said that young people face so many temptations today. Sometimes young people want to try something new but they don't realize drugs are addictive and harmful to both the young and their family, which in his words will pose domino effect.
Talking about his son Jaycee Fong's drug taking, Jackie Chan said he was ashamed and angry, but this made him even more determined to do something to fight against drugs. He maintained that his relationship with Jaycee has not changed, and that he even encourages Jaycee to be an anti-drug ambassador.
"We have to think about a way, let's do together, not only Jackie," he said, "everybody do together, I think media, government, parents, schools and me do together, just say no to drugs."
The anti-drug mobile game application launched on Thursday is called "Aversion", which is developed by students from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)'s School of Interactive and Digital Media. In this game, player aims to avoid contact with drugs and learn the harm that different drugs can cause.
