KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 — The Home Affairs Ministry is in its final stages of amending the Drug Addicts (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983 so the prison sentence for drug abuse is changed to rehabilitation instead of imprisonment.
Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the amendment process is being carried out with the cooperation of various parties such as the Prisons Department and National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK).
“If everything goes well, at the next session (Dewan Rakyat), we (the ministry) will present the amendment to the Drug Addicts Act, and I think it will be a game changer,” he said.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the AADK Open Day 2024 at the Sungai Besi Drug Rehabilitation Centre (Puspen) here, which was officiated by Bandar Tun Razak MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Saifuddin said the amendment will give addicts a second chance and reduce overcrowding at 41 prisons across the country, especially for those who are merely drug users.
“Within 41 prisons, we have 78,000 inmates (offenders), and when a data profile was made, it was found most of their crimes were related to drugs, from drug trafficking to drug abuse, which is a minor offence.
“If we do not change this path, prisons will become more crowded and less conducive. With this amendment, our hope is that as far as matters related to substance abuse are concerned, we want to decriminalise them so they (offenders) can be sent to rehabilitation centres,” he said.
He said the amendment would allow rehabilitation officers to perform urine tests on people and confirm whether they are positive for drugs, before they can be sent to Puspen for rehabilitation.
Saifuddin added that according to normal practice, the screening and confirmation of such tests could only be done by medical officers.
— Bernama
