This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 27, 2023 - April 2, 2023

Whatever one’s thoughts on minor drug offenders, the fact is that Malaysia’s prisons are ripe for reform. Overcrowding is part of the issue. Malaysia’s 39 prisons are holding 74,459 inmates — 115% their maximum capacity of 65,000 prisoners. While building more prisons would solve the overcrowding, it may not add much when it comes to rehabilitation.

That is why the government’s decision to table the Drug and Substance Abuse (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act to decriminalise minor drug offences in parliament this year is backed by many rehabilitation experts as well as the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). If passed, the law would reportedly be applicable to offenders convicted under Section 15 (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 that carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a jail term of not less than two years.

Not only would decriminalising minor drug offences in favour of rehabilitation programmes provide a new lease of life for those incarcerated for such offences, but it would also help reduce overcrowding in prisons. Countries that have decriminalised certain drug offences to ease prison congestion include Portugal, which before 2000 had the highest number of drug addicts in the world. The Netherlands reportedly reduced prison congestion by 70%.

Experts have said many beneficiaries of such a move would be those from low-income backgrounds and without proper access to education. Their families would also be freed from the stigma of a jail sentence.

Moreover, keeping a person in prison reportedly costs more than RM20,000 a year, four times more than what a community supervision programme would cost. If indeed 60% of prisoners consist of those convicted for non-violent minor drug offences, building more prisons should not be the solution. It is high time that a more holistic solution is applied to minor drug offenders.

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