Malaysia's Pakatan Harapan aims to decriminalise drug possession for personal use before end of 1st term

By New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government aims to decriminalise drug possession for personal use before the end of its first term.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly indicated this as the “timeline” when asked about the plans that it had announced last year.

“We have put (in) the timeline and policy appropriately and whatever we need to embark on will be based on proper scientific evidence based on discussions with the group.

“It’s going to be a journey and we are going to take baby steps but we are committed," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Malaysia's drug policy at Universiti Malaya today.

In June last year, Dr Dzulkefly made the announcement that the government was set to introduce a “significant game-changer policy” of decriminalising drugs, as reported by AFP.

The proposal included removing criminal penalties for possession and usage of drugs in small amounts.

On the backlash he would face as a minister of health and a member of an Islamist political party, the Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) strategy director today said he was taking up the matter in the interest of the nation and Malaysians.