KUALA LUMPUR: A drug law is in the pipeline that prioritises treatment of drug addicts rather than punishment, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
"I wish to share something important with the House that a decision has been made, namely that treatment will replace punishment for these drug offenders," the Home Minister said when wrapping his ministerial replies in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Feb 22).
He said that the proposed law was currently being drafted by his ministry which would refer the matter to the Attorney General's Chambers for further scrutiny.
If tabled and passed, the new law would be called the Drug and Substance Abuse (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act, which would replace the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983, he added.
He said the new law would increase accessibility to treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts within a comprehensive legal framework.
"The most important aspect will be treatment instead of punishment," he noted.
Saifuddin however did not give a specific time frame for the proposed law to be tabled in Parliament.
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) described it as a historic move if such a law was tabled.
He suggested Saifuddin to also look at the similar laws introduced in Portugal in 2000 which had met with great success.
Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Damansara) suggested that the new law should also apply to those who were penalised under the former law.
He said that there should not be two sets of approaches where one addict was given treatment while the other was facing punishment.
Saifuddin assured Gobind that his proposal would be given due consideration.
The concept of treating drug addiction as a condition and not a crime was mooted by the previous administration two years ago.
