Nearly all inmates at Machang prison serving time for drugs, says Saifuddin

KUALA LUMPUR: Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail says nearly all the inmates at Machang prison in Kelantan are involved in drug-related cases, warning that drug abuse remains the nation’s biggest threat.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Saifuddin said about 70% of the country’s 87,000 inmates across 41 prisons were behind bars due to drugs, either as convicted prisoners or remand detainees.

“If we look at Machang prison, nearly 100% of its inmates are linked to drug cases,” he said, adding that last year, 80% were involved in drug-related cases.

He said Bukit Aman’s narcotics department recorded more drugs seized and raids conducted, but the figures in prisons, National Anti-Drug Agency centres, and private rehabilitation centres “do not suggest that the situation is improving”.

Saifuddin was responding to supplementary questions from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) on drug abuse among youth and online sales, Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi) on vape liquids laced with fentanyl, and Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) on whether drug laws should place greater emphasis on rehabilitation over punishment.

He said Malaysia recorded 192,857 synthetic drug abuse cases in 2024, compared with 145,526 cases in 2023 and 141,817 cases in 2022.

He said the 2024 figure meant that about 560 out of every 100,000 Malaysians were involved in drug abuse.

Synthetic drugs remain the main threat, he said, with amphetamine-type stimulants accounting for about 70% of all drug abuse cases.

He said data mapping showed that the highest rates were recorded in Pendang (Kedah), Kuala Krai and Bachok (Kelantan), and Besut (Terengganu).

Those aged 15 to 39 accounted for nearly 75% of the 192,000 cases.

The minister said the government had shifted towards treating small-time drug users as people needing help rather than purely as criminals, but acknowledged that voluntary uptake of treatment programmes was still below expectations.