Life sentence for drugs: Singer should've been treated - NGO

Yasin Sulaiman, who was sentenced to life in prison for drug offences, should have been sent for mental health treatment instead, said an NGO leader.

Malaysia Society of Awareness president Muhammad Harish Kumar said punitive measures do not prevent drug addiction, which is a health issue.

“As we can see from many other criminal cases, when a person has mental health issues, they are usually sent to Tanjung Rambutan or any hospital that can treat them.

“In Yasin’s case, I believe that (treatment) would have been the right solution… but unfortunately, because of the existing law, it fell to life imprisonment and caning,” he said of the 48-year-old nasyid singer and composer.

Harish was speaking on BFM’s show, “Top 5 At 5: Revisiting Our Approach To Drug Crimes”.

Yesterday, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Yasin to life imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane over three drug offences.

Before that, in 2023, Petaling Jaya Sessions Court judge Faiz Dziyauddin acquitted and discharged the singer on the three drug charges and ordered him to be placed at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Perak, at the pleasure of the Sultan of Selangor.

Yasin’s lawyer Ariff Azami Hussein told Bernama that an appeal would be sought.

Drug dependants act

Meanwhile, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman expressed solidarity with the singer and his family.

“To Yasin and his family, as a Muslim, my prayers are with you.

“As a policymaker, my voice is also with yours,” he said in a video on Instagram.

Syed Saddiq also pointed out that the cannabis plants Yasin was caught cultivating were very small.

“There are even (plants) that are almost dead,” he said.

He went on to praise Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for recent amendments to the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983.

On July 18, the bill was passed in Parliament with a majority voice vote after a debate by 31 senators.

It aims to distinguish between drug dependants and substance abusers, as well as to broaden the scope of treatment and rehabilitation for addicts.

Its second reading was previously postponed so it could be referred to the parliamentary committees on health and security for review.

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