KUALA LUMPUR: A bill to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act was passed in Dewan Rakyat today, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said saying the amendments were for the good of the nation. She said the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for drug-related offences had taken 34 years. She dismissed criticism from opposition members of parliament that the government was unconcerned and punitive towards offenders charged under Section 39B of the act. In other words, those punished will not necessarily lose their life or end up in prison for a lifetime for certain. She said police statistics had recorded a high number of drug-related cases, with 702,319 people arrested for drug trafficking and drug trafficking from January 2014 to October this year.

Source: New Strait Times November 30, 2017 13:41 UTC