Some not eligible for free legal aid

NLAF to help those not looking at death penalty

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysians charged with criminal offences not punishable by the death penalty will be eligible for assistance from the National Legal Aid Foundation (NLAF).

“The foundation will help Malaysians who are unable to afford lawyers from the time they are arrested, detained and charged in court.

“However, the court will provide assigned counsels for offences carrying the death penalty,” he said in a written reply to Lim Lip Eng (Dapsegambut) during question time.

Lim had asked the Government who would be eligible to apply for legal aid under the NLAF.

“Malaysians with a household income of less than RM25,000 a year will be given legal assistance for free while those with a household income of more than RM25,000 a year and not exceeding RM36,000 a year, will be charged RM300,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry said the number of drug traffickers detained under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 had increased to 10,500 between 2009 to last year.

Its minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said 2,955 offenders were detained in 2009 while 3,700 and 3,845 alleged trafickers were arrested in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

“Police statistics indicate drug trafficking increased due to a number of factors, including some seeing it as an opportunity to earn big money in a short period of time.

“Another factor is the availability of synthetic drugs, which can be easily processed due to the access to raw materials,” Hishammuddin said in a written reply to Karpal Singh (Dap-bukit Gelugor) during question time.