KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the introduction of a law to manage drug addiction and abuse by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution earlier this year, experts believe that the life sentence handed to nasyid singer Muhammad Yasin Sulaiman for marijuana possession highlights significant shortcomings in the legislation.
Lawyer Farhan Read pointed out that the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Amendment Bill 2024, which was spearheaded by Saifuddin Nasution, failed to account for the unique circumstances surrounding Yasin’s case.
The singer, who was found to be mentally unsound by the Petaling Jaya sessions court, had previously hinted at using cannabis to manage symptoms of psychosis and bipolar disorder through lyrics shared on his Instagram two years ago.
“If the intention of the proposed amendment is to distinguish between drug addicts and dependants (as those who rely medicinally upon a given substance are not addicts), then Yassin’s case is a lacuna which fails to be addressed by it – given that the court has no choice but to impose a mandatory life sentence against him without making any distinction as to what class of user Yassin falls under.
“So the new law is a toothless tiger. (From) very early on, you can see the drawbacks of our current legal framework on drugs,” Farhan told Scoop.
Addressing Yasin’s mental condition, Farhan explained that for an acquittal based on mental incapacity, it must be proven that the accused was incapable of understanding the nature of the act or that it was wrong or unlawful at the time of the offence.
For the offence of cultivating the cannabis plant, Farhan says it is not a defence for Yasin to argue that he was growing and using cannabis to self-medicate.
However, Farhan acknowledged it should be considered as a mitigating circumstance when it comes to the question of sentencing.
The tragedy here, Farhan notes, is that under section 6B(3) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the court’s hands are tied and are precluded from arriving at a sentence which is commensurate with the intention behind the commission of the offence.
Farhan said that the law does not take into consideration whether one grows cannabis plants for trafficking, or whether it is to be used to treat a medical condition. Life imprisonment is a mandatory punishment if found guilty in either case, he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s a political question. In this very specific case as relates to the growing of cannabis plants, the greater harm comes from being caught by the authorities than the actual use of it”, Farhan added
In contrast, addiction and mental health treatment expert Prem Kumar Shanmugam highlighted that prosecutors had initially charged Yasin with trafficking but later reduced the charge to possession – indicating a lack of evidence for distribution intent.
Prem emphasised that the reason behind Yasin’s possession of 17 marijuana plants and 193.7g of cannabis should be thoroughly investigated by someone with expertise in both medical and addiction fields.
“The person who interviews Yasin must have enough experience not just as a medical expert but as an addiction expert too.
“This is to determine if someone is a dependant, abuser or pusher,” Prem said when contacted.
Commenting on Yasin’s life sentence and caning, Prem questioned the efficacy of such punishment for someone who is drug-dependent.
He suggested that rehabilitation would be more appropriate, especially given Yasin’s additional charge for self-administering THC, the active component in cannabis.
“My view is, he (Yasin) is an addict who needs treatment. So on the punishment of life imprisonment and caning – I wonder how it would help him. We need to look for a long-term treatment plan,” Prem said.
In March, Prem had sounded the alarm regarding the shortage of local addiction specialists, warning that the inadequacy of qualified personnel capable of managing such conditions could lead to failures in the implementation of rehabilitation-based drug policies.
Prem was also among a group of healthcare practitioners who advocated for the Health Ministry to assume responsibility for managing the Drug and Substance Abuse (Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation) Bill overseen by the Home Ministry.
In 2022, prosecutors initially charged Yassin with trafficking 214g of cannabis at the Petaling Jaya sessions court in addition to other counts of cultivating 17 marijuana plants and self-administering THC.
Later that same year, the Attorney-General’s Chambers withdrew the trafficking charges for possession instead.
On November 29, 2023, Petaling Jaya sessions court judge Faiz Dziyauddin acquitted Yasin for all three charges finding him mentally unsound during the commission of the crimes and sentenced him to institutionalisation at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Perak instead.
This prompted the prosecution to appeal against the acquittal, which saw the Shah Alam sessions court overturning Faiz’s ruling.
In July this year, the Home Ministry introduced the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983 in the Dewan Rakyat, marketing the legislation as Putrajaya’s move to decriminalise drug addiction.
During the debates, parliamentarians raised various concerns with the bill, which they said did not address the fact that drug dependants could still be liable to criminal punishment for possession and self-administration of narcotics.
This prompted Saifuddin Nasution to refer the bill to the parliamentary special select committees for health and security.
On July 18, the bill was successfully passed with Saifuddin informing Parliament that Putrajaya had no plans to decriminalise possession and self-administration of drugs. – August 22, 2024
