Hamzah: New anti-drug law to focus more on rehab

KUALA LUMPUR: The Drug and Substance Abuse Act, which will replace the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983, will enable many drug abusers and addicts to be rehabilitated instead of being sent to jail.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the change of punishment for drug abusers and addicts from prison sentences to rehabilitation and treatment programme would materialise this year through the new legislation.

He said this was to avoid the stigma of society, which tended to look negatively on drug abusers.

“It will also facilitate their reintegration into the community and give them a second chance,” he said during the National Anti-Drugs

Agency’s (Nada) Facebook Live session yesterday.

The session was held in conjunction with the 38th National AntiDrugs Day.

Hamzah said the theme “Lebih Baik Cegah” (Prevention is Better) was chosen for this year’s National Anti-Drugs Day celebration to remind all parties to play a proactive role in protecting themselves and those under their care from being involved with dangerous drugs.

The minister said in line with the increasingly complex challenges and problems to meet the target of “Dadah Terkawal 2025” (Control of Drugs 2025), the government would continue to intensify efforts to involve all parties and stakeholders.

The first batch of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd will arrive here on Feb 27, says Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

This is a day after the national rollout for Covid-19 vaccinations.

“For Sinovac, the first bulk delivery will be taken to the Pharmaniaga manufacturing facility, where it will be bottled,” said Khairy, who is also the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, during an interview with BFM yesterday.

Called CoronaVac, the vaccine has not yet been registered with Malaysia’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, with Khairy adding that “this is still pending approval”.

Pharmaniaga had signed an agreement with Sinovac to manufacture two million doses of CoronaVac a month beginning in March.

Khairy also said the PfizerBioNTech vaccine had already left the factory in Belgium.

However, it still had to go through several transit points as the carriers were carrying vaccines for other countries as well before reaching Malaysia tomorrow.

Malaysia would continue to receive subsequent batches from Pfizer every two weeks, eventually reaching one million doses by the end of this quarter, according to Khairy.