Malaysia moves to decriminalise small-scale drug possession and use to free up prison space

Name: Pushback against death penalty in Singapore for intellectually-disabled man
Uploaded: 2023-05-16T03:01:08.000Z
Duration: 1 min 57 s
Description: Pushback against death penalty in Singapore for intellectually-disabled man

Nearly 22,000 people were arrested for various drugs offences last year in Malaysia – considered a key transit point for illegal narcotics

Those found with small quantities would not be prosecuted but sent to drug rehabilitation centres under a proposed new law, the home minister said

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Reuters

Published: 11:01am, 16 May 2023

Malaysia wants to introduce a law to decriminalise the possession and use of small quantities of illicit drugs, according to its home affairs minister, who cited a need to reduce prison overcrowding.

The move is the latest in a series of criminal justice reforms pursued by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, which this year abolished the mandatory death penalty and natural-life prison terms, and said it would seek to decriminalise suicide attempts.

Malaysia, like many of its Southeast Asian neighbours, has harsh penalties for drug crimes.

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Pushback against death penalty in Singapore for intellectually-disabled man

Under reforms passed last month, it retained the death penalty for drug trafficking but said it will no longer be mandatory, with judges allowed to decide whether or not to impose the sentence on convicted offenders.

Under the proposed law, those found with small quantities of illegal substances will not be prosecuted but instead sent to drug rehabilitation centres for treatment, Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution told reporters.

“For those found with small amounts of drugs, whether it was for possession or use, the idea is not to consider the act as a regular drug-related offence,” he said.

A proposal on the new law is expected to be presented to cabinet in July for approval, Saifuddin said. If approved, a draft bill will be tabled in parliament within the year, he added.