KUALA LUMPUR: Every year, Malaysia spends over RM1 billion on prison costs for drug offences, an amount enough to hire some 5,000 specialist doctors and help reduce waiting times at hospitals.
Newly appointed Home secretary-general Datuk Awang Alik Jeman said drug and substance-related crimes continued to have a significant impact on the country and its people.
"Prison costs related to drug crimes total RM1.15 billion annually," he said, citing data shared at the recent National Security Conference.
Last year, 8,480 people were arrested for drug-related crimes.
"Meanwhile, drug rehabilitation costs RM65 per day. Last year, 7,000 people underwent rehab and this cost RM166 million," he told the New Straits Times in an exclusive interview.
The money spent on prison and rehabilitation is just one part of the cost of the drug problem.
"The substantial impact (of drug and substance-related crimes) can be seen through enforcement efforts carried out from last year to this year. The total value of seizures amounted to RM1.1 billion for that one year."
Awang said essentially, the costs and seizures linked to drug and substance-related crimes were valued at RM2.3 billion a year.
This is more than the RM1.9 billion in losses recorded from online crimes over the past two years.
He said the Home Ministry outlined five strategies to combat the drug threat, which are:
CONDUCTING more aggressive enforcement operations;
STRENGTHENING holistic treatment and rehabilitation programmes;
ENHANCING the integrity of enforcement personnel;
RAMPING up the use of advanced technology against smuggling, and;
STRENGTHENING inter-agency cooperation at a national and international level to curb cross-border drug crimes.
Awang, who assumed his post on Sept 5, said border security was another pressing concern.
He said the ministry, through the police's General Operations Force, had been conducting operations "non-stop" across border lines in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan spanning 662km.
Op Taring Wawasan aims to prevent cross-border crimes and intrusions at the Malaysia-Thai border. The ministry also deplo-yed advanced surveillance technology at the Malaysia-Thailand border fence at Padang Besar.
Awang said there were plans to integrate other intelligence and security technology to create a National Border Control System.
"This initiative is expected to use more advanced surveillance systems and artificial intelligence to facilitate identification of objects, reduce false alarms and assist security personnel in taking action and making decisions."
He added that the National Security Council also established a strategic border management framework to enhance coordination and information sharing with neighbouring countries, as well as bolster security cooperation related to border issues.