This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 30, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The youth and sports ministry is working with the home ministry and other relevant government agencies to speed up the decriminalisation of drug addiction.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (pic) said the ministry is working to set up a new committee. This is in addition to the government committee set up for studying implications of the decriminalisation.

When questioned about a timeline, Syed Saddiq said his ministry is working on fast-tracking the issue, and it would meet with other ministries and agencies to discuss the various facets of the decriminalisation.

However, when asked if this would be done by the end of the current session of Parliament on Dec 5, the minister said he needs to get back to the various parties involved and did not provide any deadlines.

Among the issues being discussed are differences between drug dealers and addicts as well as the quantity mooted to be decriminalised.

"Addicts are not criminals. There is a difference between addicts and dealers," he noted.

Syed Saddiq said the reason why his ministry is getting involved is because youth incarceration rates for drug offences are higher compared with those who are above 30 years old.

He added that the civil service would also review job applications by those convicted with drug addiction-related sentences.