KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 is timely and necessary to effectively combat the menace of drug abuse and eliminate drug traffickers in the country.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
said the existing legislation has become somewhat obsolete and needs to be reviewed to enable the respective government agencies to function effectively.
The two key agencies involved are the police's Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) and the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK).
"The matter should be raised in Parliament as soon as possible so that members of parliament could have a chance to look at it (proposed amendments) and come up with suggestions," he told the New Straits Times.
Bukit Aman NCID director Datuk Razarudin Husain had on Saturday said the improvements that needed to be done included reducing the weight of drugs that can be charged under Section 39B of the law and also to charge those involved in drug trafficking under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLA) 2001.
Currently, under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act, the weight is 15g for heroin and 50g for Methampetamine for offenders to be given the death penalty and life imprisonment.
Razarudin had said there is a need for the weight of Methampetamine or syabu to be reduced to 15g or lower, given that the drug is the most seized drug currently, compared to ketamine, cannabis and heroin.
The proposal had been submitted by the police to the Home Ministry through the legal division.
Lee said besides reviewing the law, it is imperative that the government put in place measures to strengthen border control as Malaysia is being used as a drug transit hub.
"We need to beef up border control along the Malaysian-Thailand border, at our ports and airports.
"If these drugs can still enter our shores easily, there could be something wrong with the enforcement, which is why law enforcement is essential.
"There must be integrity among law enforcers or we will never be able to solve this problem, which has only deteriorated since the 1980s. We have lost the war against drug."
Lee further suggested that drug addicts who have not been involved in serious crime should be sent for drug rehabilitation.
"AADK must be allocated with sufficient facilities and manpower to beef up their services to provide rehabilitation for those dependent on drugs.
"These people should also be delisted from the police list of criminals, which would allow them to secure job opportunities when they leave rehabilitation. If not, they would eventually retreat to drug offences and it becomes a vicious cycle."