Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) urged the government to reconsider renewing the Dangerous Drugs Act 1985 (DDA), saying its lack of transparency, detention without trial and use of torture were violations against basic human rights.
KUALA LUMPUR: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) urged the government to reconsider renewing the Dangerous Drugs Act 1985 (DDA), saying its lack of transparency, detention without trial and use of torture were violations against basic human rights.
The NGO’s Executive Director Yap Swee Seng explained, “A person can be arrested arbitrarily without warrant or reasonable cause.
“More importantly, those detained under this act loses his/her rights to a fair trial.
Saying the DDA was ineffective in reducing drug-related crimes in the country, Yap referred to statistics from the National Anti-Drugs Agency that showed these crimes had steadily increased from 2008-2013.
Yap added that there were in fact other laws in the country that were more comprehensive, citing Section 117 of the Criminal Procedural Law as an example.
Yap said unlike Section 117, the DDA lacked transparency in police investigations and its allowance for a 60-day detention without trial was a cause for concern.
More worrying were the numerous allegations by detainees who claimed they were tortured while in custody to force a confession.
Given the many weaknesses of the DDA, Yap said Suaram was simply demanding “a fair trial for these detainees as it is a basic human right.”
Suaram also pushed for all current detainees of the DDA to be released and investigated using a fairer law that doesn’t violate their basic rights.