Kuala Lumpur: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has named Malaysia as the world`s 10th largest consumer of alcohol.
To combat the problem, the government will initiate a campaign to create awareness on the dangers of alcohol abuse.
Ten seminars would be held nationwide this year, conducted in Mandarin, Malay, English and Tamil and aimed mostly at those from the ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, which had a high alcohol abuse rate.
"The public has to understand that alcohol is not part of our culture and it will bring harm if it is abused," Malaysia`s Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Heng Seai Kie said.
Statistics by the international body this year also showed that Malaysians spent over USD 500 million on alcohol with a per capita consumption of seven litres.
Beer consumption in multi-ethnic Malaysia is 11 litres per capita.