PETALING JAYA: The home ministry and the National Anti-Drugs Agency (Nada) have prepared a draft bill to replace the old Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said before tabling the bill in Parliament, they would allocate enough time to get comprehensive feedback from all stakeholders, including NGOs.
“This is to ensure the bill covers all legal aspects to enable more drug and substance abusers receive appropriate treatment and rehabilitation,” he said when officiating the District Drug Rehabilitation Committee Symposium today.
Hamzah added that during the first seven months of this year, 47,863 people had received treatment and rehabilitation at Nada centres throughout the country, proving that these services were not affected during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the ministry had also applied for a special allocation of RM10 million in the 2022 budget to boost activities to maintain the recovery of former inmates.
According to Hamzah, Nada had introduced a new initiative by appointing 30 mentors from among former rehab patients who have recovered, to be role models for addicts.
“This approach will indirectly provide awareness and motivate those involved with drugs to attend treatment voluntarily at Nada facilities,” he said.
He also called for Nada to continue exploring modern methods to improve drug treatment for its rehabilitation services, comparable or even better than that in other countries.