JOHOR BARU — There was no need for the United States Embassy in Malaysia to issue a notice advising its citizens against a visiting a popular nightspot in Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysia's Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed on Saturday (Jan 13).

He said the notice, which was issued on Friday following a purported spate of "coordinated drink-spiking" cases at The Beach Club in Jalan P. Ramlee, would put Malaysia in negative light.

Mr Mohamed said the authorities should have been informed of the allegation to allow Malaysian police to investigate the matter.

"This (drink spiking) happens at a lot of places, not only at this particular nightspot. I will ask the Kuala Lumpur police to investigate the matter and see if any reports were lodged by the victims.

"The problem with these cases is that sometimes, the victims do not lodge a police report but talk about it on social media instead. This makes it difficult for the police to investigate."

In a statement on Friday, the US embassy said the prohibition was not based on one singular event, but was developed after a careful review of historical events associated with the nightclub.

It also said the outlet was officially "off-limits" to all American diplomats, following a similar incident in 2015.

Mr Mohamed said he hoped the notice was merely a reminder for Americans to be careful when patronising the nightspot.

"This could paint a negative picture of Malaysia. The fact is that such cases are allegedly happening only at The Beach Club."

He was speaking to reporters after attending the first anniversary of Everyday Sports Sdn Bhd's establishment in Taman Anggerik.

On another matter, Mr Mohamed said Malaysia's Home Ministry allocated RM5 million (S$1.67 million) to the Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam) to reduce the number of drug addicts in the country.

"Pemadam plans to organise 100 drug prevention-related programmes in the next three months and we will target hotpots like Felda settlements, people's housing project and beach areas," said Mr Mohamed, who is also Pemadam president.

He said the association would also appoint 500 public and private university students to participate in outreach programmes in schools to raise awareness on the dangers of recreational drugs. NEW STRAITS TIMES