This is Part 1 of a series of articles that explores the issues surrounding drug decriminalisation in Malaysia.
Mat (not his real name) went to prison hungry.
One night in 2017, when he was 20 years old, he wanted cookies. Not just any cookie, but a special kind that only he can make. The former college student’s first stop was the grocery store. His next stop was at his dealer’s place – for 70 grammes of marijuana.
“I needed to make a special butter for the cannabis cookies. I had to restock the cannabis to make the butter. You need a certain amount for the recipe,” he told Bernama via phone.
Everything was smooth sailing until he set for home. Ahead was a line of vehicles slowing down at a police checkpoint where policemen either waved drivers through or to the side. Panicking, Mat jumped off his friend’s motorcycle and tried to flee on foot, gripping his stash.
The police zoomed in on him and found the marijuana, too little to qualify as trafficking under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, but too much to ignore.
Mat and his friend were detained under Section 39A (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act for drug possession and spent the night in jail. In the morning, Mat was brought up for remand. He did not receive bail. His friend was pressured to become a witness for the prosecution.
Determined to fight the charges, Mat remained in jail awaiting his court date. After nine months, he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane.
Mat was and is not an addict. He has neither done nor is interested in trying harder drugs such as heroin, ketamine or methamphetamines. He has never been involved in violent crimes. And yet, if anyone did a background check, they would find him listed as an “undesirable person” or criminal under the Registration of Criminals and Undesirable Persons Act 1969 (RCUPA). Like many others, the label has stigmatised him, limiting his job prospects and ability to continue his studies.
Mat’s case is not an outlier. It is an all too common scenario due to Malaysia’s approach to drug offences, experts say.
“For decades, we have essentially one approach to the drug problem in Malaysia, and that's through punitive actions and the criminal justice system. Criminalisation may appear to tackle drug use, but … in reality, it does more harm than good,” said Malaysian AIDS Foundation chairman Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman at Malaysia’s first Drug Policy Summit, held in November.
MORAL AND SOCIAL CRIME
What constitutes a drug offender under Malaysian law? For decades, it was anyone who uses, buys, sells or transports illicit drugs. Depending on the amount and type of drugs in the person’s possession or system, as well as how many times he or she has been convicted, the approach has always been to punish and remove.
Human rights activist Dobby Chew Chuan Yang said Malaysia’s strict drug laws are from the colonial era, which takes a very personal approach to drug use and trade by punishing the individual concerned harshly.
“We don't really investigate what the cause is… We are not that kind of legal system. Our legal system focuses on... ‘here's an offence that we have put out in the law. You have committed elements of the offence, so we're prosecuting you for it’,” he said.
The laws also allow presumption of guilt for anyone caught in the dragnet, putting the onus of proving innocence on the individual.
In all other crimes, the inverse is true. There is the presumption of innocence, which requires the state to prove that the accused committed the crime. Crimes involving long prison terms, such as rape, armed assault and murder, also require a victim who has been harmed by an individual’s actions. But in drug offences, ranging from non-violent and minor drug possession to transporting drugs, there is no need for a direct victim. Instead, the victim is society itself.
Compounding the issue, the law makes no distinction between people like Mat, who is guilty of a non-violent and minor low-level offence, and more serious drug charges like trafficking. Currently, all drug offences mandate punishment and removal from society.
If a person is found using drugs but not involved in trafficking, they are either sent to a mandatory rehabilitation facility run by the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) or sentenced to prison.
Prior to 2023, drug trafficking carried a mandatory death sentence, regardless of the extenuating circumstances. And the scope was wide. Anyone caught in the general vicinity of a drug deal or stash, such as a roommate or live-in family member of a drug courier, can be presumed guilty of drug trafficking.
“Like (a) mother randomly just at home sitting there watching TV … suddenly she gets picked up as though she’s a drug lord because there's like 10 kg (kilogrammes) of marijuana in the attic (hidden by her son),” Chew said.
The purpose of this harsh approach, by making the punishment so severe and disproportionate to the offence, is the hope that it will act as a deterrent to others. However, the numbers say differently.
In reality, it has become an efficient way for the police and prosecutors to measure job performance. The public also gets the impression that the government is doing its job of tackling the drug trade. For the less privileged, their chance of being convicted and imprisoned is higher.
Dr Adeeba said during her years of visiting and talking to inmates at Kajang Prison, she had rarely met a drug offender who came from a wealthy background.
“The current policy approach fails to address underlying social determinants of health like poverty, which increases the risk for drug use and lack of education,” she said.
MORE HARM THAN GOOD
Since the war on drugs started in the 1980s, the global drug trade has only grown. From being worth US$124.3 billion in the late 80s, it is now estimated to be around US$500 billion annually.
Like the rest of the world, the number of drug cases and arrests has been increasing in Malaysia. In a 1988 paper published in the ‘Medical Journal of Malaysia’, researchers reported that the country recorded 711 addicts in 1970 and 110,363 addicts in 1985.
In 2023, AADK figures listed 145,526 drug users and addicts, which increased by almost a third to 192,857 in 2024, with 61 percent of them between the ages of 15 and 39.
According to crime statistics compiled by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, in 2021, the police recorded 108,220 drug cases and 129,604 drug-related arrests. By 2023, the numbers grew to 158,417 total drug cases and 179,799 arrests.
Rather than putting a dent in the drug trade or use, these laws have instead affected the futures of many, primarily young people from low-income backgrounds.
“A criminal record makes it difficult for individuals to find stable employment or even access educational opportunities, (continuing) a cycle of poverty and substance use,” said Dr Adeeba.
“Furthermore, the family that’s left behind, the children in particular, face untold stigma, trauma and deprivation as a result of parental incarceration.”
Conviction is not even necessary for one to be listed as an “undesirable person” under the RCUPA. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told reporters in November last year that over a million names are listed under the Act, including those who were detained for questioning but not charged and served as witnesses.
News articles have reported cases of innocent bystanders and witnesses in drug-related incidents who encountered problems when trying to enroll in universities or get a job.
In recent years, Malaysia has embarked on drug policy reform. In July this year, Saifuddin said that as part of the drug reform effort, the Cabinet has given the green light to amend the RCUPA to expunge records of individuals convicted of non-violent or minor offences after a certain period. He added that the ministry is working on the amendments, but did not say when they will be ready.
The government also passed amendments to the Drug Dependents (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act last year to decriminalise drug use. Instead of prison, drug users and addicts are required to enter AADK rehabilitation centres. However, they would still be recorded as a drug offender.
Addiction and rehabilitation experts protested the amendments, saying they retained the punitive aspect of drug laws and may make it harder for people to seek help.
DECRIMINALISATION, NOT LEGALISATION
When Mat was released from prison in 2020 for good behavior, he toyed with the idea of going to college. Having been trained in tailoring while he was incarcerated and discovering he had a talent for it, he thought a degree in fashion design would help his new career.
He soon discovered his prospects are limited.
“I can't go to public universities anymore. My only option is to go to a private university,” which is expensive, he said. He now lives with his mother in Selangor.
Mat’s case is, unfortunately, typical. Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni told Bernama on the sidelines of the recent Drug Policy Summit about “Khalid”, who was convicted of minor possession of drugs when he was a young adult.
“For more than 20 years, he has been having that (record). It was just minor possession of drugs for recreational use while (he was a) teenager, but he has been punished for so long… it has impacted his future, especially when applying for jobs,” he said.
Experts say decriminalising minor drug offences, such as drug possession in amounts that do not meet the threshold of drug trafficking, and treating drug abuse as a public health issue would repair much of the harm the harsh penalties have inflicted thus far. It would encourage addicts to seek and receive help when they are ready, which will reduce the recidivism rate.
They also stress that decriminalisation of drugs is not the same as legalisation. The government seems willing to listen, even if the path to decriminalisation may be rocky and rife with misunderstanding.
During the press conference at the Drug Policy Summit, Lukanisman reiterated the government’s commitment to rethink and reform drug policies in the country.
“We do not want to see these mistakes as permanent mistakes because there is a problem if we look at the data. The highest incidence (of drug use) is (among those) in the 19-39 age (group),” he said, adding this age group is the one that contributes most to the economy.
“If we prevent this group (from) the opportunity to continue their education (because they) are punished due to a law that we can say is stuck in the colonial era, (it will be to our detriment).”
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