SERDANG – The draft bill to create a new act related to drug and substance abuse will be brought to the cabinet meeting this July, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin said if the draft is approved, he hopes it can be tabled in Parliament this year.
“We hope it can be carried out according to schedule so that the first reading can be done in Parliament this year,” he told reporters after attending the Home Ministry’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration at the Serdang Malaysia Agriculture Exposition Park here today.
In March, the media reported that the government was enacting the Drug and Substance Abuse (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act to reduce the number of addicts in prison by placing them in institutions or community rehabilitation treatment.
Commenting on the issue of citizenship applications, Saifuddin said the Home Ministry had received nearly 8,000 citizenship applications in the first week of May.
“One of my focuses is applications for citizenship of adopted children who do not have identity documents,” he said.
He said the group in question faced difficulty with getting medical treatment and attending school.
“The group in question is being treated like foreigners because they do not have identity documents, so that is one of my focuses,” he said.
In February, the ministry aimed to process at least 10,000 citizenship status applications this year.
Commenting on Malaysia being ranked 75th on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), Saifuddin Nasution said a paper will be presented to the cabinet this Wednesday regarding the matter.
“I will not respond today because I will present it this Wednesday and will then share it with the media,” he said.
On May 11, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported to have said that Malaysia was ranked 75th on the 2022 GTI compared to 68th in 2021, and that the achievement gave a good indication of the country. – Bernama, May 15, 2023
