Study: Only 6% Of Malaysians Fully Accept People With Drug Addiction History

The Centre says over 80% of respondents don’t support the death penalty for major drug offences like transporting, or selling or possessing large amounts (in kg) of narcotics.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 – A new study has found that only six per cent of Malaysians are completely accepting of people with drug addiction issues, whether past or present, further highlighting the stigma attached to addiction.

The face-to-face poll by Kuala Lumpur-based think-tank The Centre found that while many Malaysians seemed empathetic about issues related to drug addiction, they were less receptive to the idea of having former drug offenders living among them.

Only 30 of the survey’s 500 respondents accepted drug addiction publicly and privately, with the latter defined as being receptive to a former or current drug addict as their neighbours or family members.

Public acceptance broadly refers to acknowledging addiction as an illness, recognition of the possibility of physical and mental health factors in causing addiction, and patients’ need for social reintegration.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, in his speech during the launch of The Centre’s “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” report yesterday, said the study revealed “biases” that showed how people “really feel” about drug offenders.

“If we don’t address this, research has shown that for as long as the stigma remains, then it is more likely that drug offenders cannot reintegrate back into society.

“Recidivism increases because you’re not welcome. So when you’re not welcome, you go back to doing what you used to,” Khairy said.

“I think there’s a huge role for us to follow up from the study in terms of, as I said earlier, advocacy, working together with the community and sharing the new outlook towards drugs and drug offenders.”

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (left) and Ambassador of the European Union to Malaysia, Michalis Rokas, at the launch of The Centre’s “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study in Kuala Lumpur on July 14, 2022. Picture from the Ministry of Health.

According to government data, the recidivism rate for drug users has been on the rise, going from 9 per cent in 2015 to 11 per cent in 2019. This is also reflected in the number of relapse cases recorded – from 6,379 cases in 2015 to 8,754 cases in 2019, the Centre’s study noted, citing figures from the National Anti-Drugs Agency.

Khairy is co-founder of The Centre along with Shahril Sufian Hamdan, economic director in the Prime Minister’s Office, who was also present at the launch of the report that was funded by the European Union (EU). Also in attendance was the ambassador of the delegation of the EU to Malaysia, Michalis Rokas.

The Centre’s study, conducted from April 3 to 11 this year, showed that public acceptance of people who are or used to be addicted to controlled drugs is higher compared to private acceptance.

The survey divided controlled drugs into two groups, namely “more serious” and “less serious” controlled drugs.

More serious controlled drugs are those with no known medical benefits and the highest risk of addiction, such as heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD, also known colloquially as a psychedelic drug), ecstasy, opium, crack cocaine and crystal meth.

Less serious controlled drugs are those with known medical benefits or applications according to health authorities and a relatively moderate risk of addiction, such as cannabis, ketum, adderall, morphine, codeine, and amphetamine. Adderall is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while morphine and codeine are painkillers.

Of these “less serious” controlled drugs, ketum, adderall, and codeine are not listed on the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 as narcotics that would be punishable with the death penalty for trafficking.

Graphic from the “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study published by The Centre on July 14, 2022.

About 55 to 57 per cent of respondents have generally empathetic views towards people addicted to controlled drugs, seeing drug addiction as an illness and driven by trauma. As many as 62 per cent of respondents think it is important to accept those formerly addicted to controlled drugs into society.

However, receptivity towards accepting people who are formerly addicted to controlled drugs as neighbours or family members – namely in the private context – is lower at about 47 to 48 per cent.

Graphic from the “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study published by The Centre on July 14, 2022.

“This finding supports extant research as well as media reports on the longstanding stigmatisation of people addicted to controlled drugs,” researcher Tham Jia Vern said when presenting The Centre’s study.

Tham said societal stigma impedes a former addict’s reintegration into society, a finding confirmed by a 1995 study conducted in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Many human interest stories bear this out, including media features of ex-offenders being shunned by their families and the authorities upon re-entering society,” she said.

Support For Death Penalty Low For Major Drug Offences

Graphic from the “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study published by The Centre on July 14, 2022.

In line with the government’s announcement to abolish the mandatory death penalty, public support for the death sentence among the survey’s respondents were low for major drug offences.

The study differentiates major drug offences from minor drug offences by weight and volume of the drugs involved and the nature of intent or knowledge behind the drug-related activity.

Major drug offences constitute “knowingly” transporting, carrying, or delivering; “unknowingly” transporting, carrying, or delivering; selling large amounts (in kilograms); and possessing large amounts (in kilograms) of more serious drugs.

Less than 20 per cent of respondents support the death penalty for each respective major drug offence tested involving more serious drugs. The majority of respondents support non-capital punishments as responses towards the major offences.

Notably, 39 per cent of respondents support non-custodial sentences or even no punishment at all for the offence of unknowingly transporting more serious drugs.

“This suggests a significant level of consideration for factors such as intent in committing the crime,” Tham said.

Graphic from the “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study published by The Centre on July 14, 2022.

Support for the death penalty drops even further to between one and 12 per cent for major offences involving less serious drugs, making support for non-custodial responses higher.

“This may be attributed to the perceived harm of the type of drugs involved in these offences. It is notable that support for the death penalty dropped most significantly for the offence of ‘knowingly’ transporting drugs, from 18 per cent for more serious drugs to 7 per cent of respondents for less serious drugs,” Tham said.

Despite the low support for the death penalty for major drug offences, the study found more respondents were more receptive towards punitive measures if it involved a foreign national.

“This could be attributed to a lack of public acceptance for foreigners and migrant workers. According to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report dated 2020, a high majority of respondents (83 per cent) thought that crime rates have increased in Malaysia due to migration,” Tham said.

Majority Support Jail Terms, Life Sentences For Minor Drug Offences

Graphic from the “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study published by The Centre on July 14, 2022.

The study also measured public attitudes on minor drug offences defined as using (taking, inhaling), selling small amounts (in grams), and possessing small amounts of more serious drugs (in grams).

Although support for the death penalty is low for minor drug offences involving more serious drugs, 65 to 70 per cent support either jail terms or life sentences for possessing or selling small amounts of such drugs — which in the case of morphine could be as little as 5 grams (about one teaspoon) under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Nonetheless, there is significant support (45 per cent) for non-custodial sentences, such as community service and fines, or no punishment at all for the offence of using more serious drugs, showing greater sympathy for offences of consumption versus offences of commercial gain, Tham said.

“Only 12 per cent of our respondents support either jail terms or life sentences across every minor drug offence, regardless of the type of drugs involved. None support the death penalty for every minor drug offence. This finding is in stark contrast to the reality of Malaysia’s current prison population, where over 60 per cent of inmates were convicted of minor drug offences,” Tham said.

Policy Recommendations

Graphic from the “How Do Malaysians Really Feel About Drugs?” study published by The Centre on July 14, 2022.

Based on the findings of the study, The Centre mooted several policy recommendations, including amending the Dangerous Drugs Act and expediting the replacement of the Drug and Substance Abuse Act with the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act.

For the Dangerous Drugs Act, researchers call for an increase to the weight thresholds of drugs in serious offences such as trafficking. They also suggest redefining punishments for serious offences based on the intention of the crime and increasing the distinction of seriousness of the drugs involved in offences prior to sentencing.

For the Drug and Substance Abuse Act with the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act, researchers said policymakers should disclose the contents of the proposed replacement and gather input from the relevant stakeholders.

To address stigma, The Centre recommended adopting a non-stigmatising language and tone in official communications about drugs and people who use drugs. It further encouraged media reporting of drug-related issues from a public health rather than criminal perspective.

The think-tank also mooted more engagement with community leaders to facilitate reintegration of former drug offenders into the society.

The Centre said its survey was conducted nationwide with 500 adult members of the public face-to-face in nine days from April 3 to 11 in a stratified random sample by state, age, gender and ethnicity. The think tank did not specify exactly how participants were selected for the in-person survey.

Questionnaires were in Bahasa Malaysia, English, and Mandarin. However, The Centre did not include a copy of the questionnaire in its report on the study.

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