Astonishing.
Wow.
A shattering admission from the Home Minister.
Speaking at the 2026 PKR national congress, the Home Minister who is also PKR secretary-general said the biggest threat facing the Malays is drug abuse within the community especially amongst its youths.
He added that those affected were generally aged 15 and above, with many having dropped out of school and lacking educational qualifications and employment.
Northern and East Coast states—such as Terengganu, Perlis, Kelantan, and Kedah—record the highest prevalence rates, often exceeding 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents.
Do you know how much tax payers monies are spent to fight and control this scourge i.e drug abuse not just amongst the Malay but amongst all Malaysians?
More than RM2 billion each year on its enforcement-led and punitive approach to combat drug abuse and manage drug-related offences.
For context and comparison purposes, the Ministry of National Unity and the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities both operate with yearly budget allocations well under RM2 billion, recording approximately RM767.99 million and RM810.09 million respectively under the federal budget.
A staggering and mind blowing RM2 billion a year.
Solely just to ensure that youths in Malaysia, who are the future of this country, are not destroyed or wasted before reaching their productive years and contribute to building and growth of this country.
Monies that could be used for these 2 Ministries that could yield productiive results and generate and create new jobs and opportunities for all Malaysians.
According to data compiled by public health experts, the Home Ministry, and the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), the annual financial burden is distributed across several key sectors:
- Prison Incarceration Costs: RM1.15 billion is spent solely on detaining and housing individuals arrested for drug-related offences.
- AADK Annual Budget:RM400 million, which includes managing, operating, and maintaining roughly 30 state-run drug rehabilitation centres across the country.
- Rehabilitation Operations: RM166 million specifically goes toward the daily upkeep and treatment of approximately 7,000 individuals undergoing state rehabilitation (costing roughly RM65 per day per person).
- Urine Testing: RM170 million is allocated specifically for mandatory drug screening and testing processes.
- Police Enforcement & Judicial Services: The remaining hundreds of millions of ringgit are funneled into police operations, logistics, court backlogs, and judicial proceedings directly linked to drug offenses
And does Malaysians know what is the saddest part?
Despite billions spent annually on punitive enforcement, incarceration, and rehabilitation, the government’s efforts face major hurdles, with recorded drug addiction cases surging past 192,000 individuals nationally—a rate of roughly 560 to 586 cases per 100,000 people—proving that traditional strategies have struggled to reduce overall usage.
While the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) claims high in-house rehabilitation success rates, relapses remain common due to economic stress and easily accessible synthetic substitutes.
And the irony?
Malaysia has one of the toughest laws in the world for drug trafficking.
Under Section 39B of Malaysia's Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, drug trafficking is punishable by death.
Following legal reforms, the death penalty is no longer mandatory for all cases; judges now have the discretion to impose life imprisonment and whipping instead under specific conditions.
So when politicians from UMNO, PAS, Bersatu and Parti Wawasan Negara talked about Malay unity, instead of focussing on political power, why don’t they talk and act on using Malay unity to address this issue?
Malay youths are being destroyed.
They are the future of this nation.
They are the potential successors to all the Malay politicians.
They are the potential leaders of this nation.
Why don’t these Malay politicians `save them’ from falling further into the drug abyss?
These youths are all voters and probably voted for UMNO, PAS, Bersatu and in the next GE, will probably vote for Parti Wawasan Negara.
If the politicians are genuine in their calls for unity amongst the Malay, do not let these youths be called the Lost Generation by future generations.
Not shouting and screaming for unity amongst the Malay solely for their individual political ambitions.
But also includes taking care of the Malay youths who are being led astray by the drugs scourge.
FLK (leekhean.foo@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
