KUALA LUMPUR: The government is planning to amend the Drug Dependents (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983 to Drugs and Substance Abuse Act to prevent overcrowding in prisons.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said (pix) said with the amendments, addicts will be placed at rehabilitation centres under the purview of the National Anti-Drugs Agency, instead of prison.
He said the Legal Technical Committee, chaired by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, is overseeing the matter.
“Right now we are studying the details before we could detail the amendments,“ he said.
He was replying to a supplementary question by Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Permatang Pauh).
She had asked about the government’s effort to ensure addicts were not being sent to prisons but placed at Cure and Care Rehabilitation Centres (CCRC) for more effective treatment and rehabilitation.
Replying to the initial question by Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong (GPS-Hulu Rajang) about drug abuse in Sarawak, Ismail said Kuching had the highest number of individuals arrested due to drug abuse.
“In the first quarter of the year, 1,499 individuals were arrested for drug abuse, followed by Miri (484), Samarahan (457), and Kapit with 59.”
He said in 2018, a total of 4,762 individuals in Sarawak were arrested due to drug abuse and 6,774 last year.
