SNAPSHOT | Rethink approach in tackling drug trafficking, govt told; Malacca CM: No need to postpone polls

KINI SNAPSHOT | What's going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm, and 9pm.

9pm

Drug trafficking

• The NGO Hayat has urged the government to rethink its “misguided” approach to tackling drug trafficking, which it argued disproportionately punishes low-level couriers who may themselves be victims of human trafficking and exploitation.

  Its report, “Malaysia’s Death Formula: Exploited by Drug Syndicates, Punished by the State”, underscored how the legal system treats drug mules with no knowledge of the crime with the same culpability as the mastermind.

  Hayat said Malaysia should develop policies to identify victims of forced criminality, as well as sentencing guidelines that thoroughly weigh mitigating circumstances.

  Malaysia should also explore laws like the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act in the US, which holds entire illicit enterprises accountable.

  “We must shift our judicial focus from the act itself to the actor’s circumstances. We must move beyond the narrow search for a ‘mastermind’ and acknowledge that in the modern drug trade, the network is the mastermind,” it said in a statement today.

READ MORE: COMMENT | Do M'sian laws expect people to detect drugs like authorities?

Malacca polls

• Malacca Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh has dismissed suggestions to postpone the state election amid the global energy crisis.

  

  “According to the existing provisions, the (state) election can be held at any time from May until the end of the said period (in December).

  “I do not see the need to postpone this election as there is insufficient basis to support the proposal (to postpone the state election),” Bernama quoted him as saying.

READ MORE: Calls to postpone polls must be assessed realistically - Fuziah

Previously at 6pm | No letter yet, says N Sembilan speaker; foreigners not allowed to hold events in Kesidang open areas

2pm | Daim's sons appeal arrest warrants; PAS denies planning counter-coup in Perlis

9am | N Sembilan dispute: Cops say don’t pick sides; Puchong PKR chief says unrest instigated

Calls to postpone polls must be assessed realistically - Fuziah

Muhyiddin: Call to postpone Malacca, Johor elections 'cowardly'

Lawyer urges overhaul to justice system, current one fails vulnerable folk

Singapore to execute another M'sian next week over drug charges