PADANG SERAI: Kelantan has the highest rate of drug abuse based on the ratio of every 100,000 residents, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.
Terengganu is second, followed by Perlis (third) and Kedah (fourth), he added.
“The four states share two major similarities, they are border areas with can easily have smuggling routes, and have Malay-Muslim majorities, but analyses were conducted based on data, not ethnicity.
“Pendang district in Kedah is the district with the highest cases, followed by Kuala Krai and Bachok in Kelantan,“ he told reporters after officiating the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA) community programme and the launch of the 2025 Anti-Drug Day Calendar at the Kulim Form Six College near here today, in the presence of NADA director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh and several senior Home Ministry (KDN) officials.
Saifuddin said that drug abuse in the country is concerning and has been growing yearly, with statistics showing that 137,176 individuals involved in drug abuse in 2022, 145,526 individuals in 2023, and rising to 192,857 individuals in 2024.
“A total of 61 per cent of drug addicts are aged between 15 and 39... this data was gathered from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Health Ministry (MOH), NADA and 55 private rehabilitation centres,” he said, adding that methamphetamine and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) were the drugs of choice, with their use rising to 34.4 per cent, while cannabis use rose to 63.4 per cent with 7,121 cases recorded.
Saifuddin also said that enforcement measures have been taken, including strengthening border controls.
“This includes tightening border areas in Sungai Golok, Kelantan, with the presence of special teams from the Perak Camp.
“Illegal entry points are also being monitored to curb the smuggling of drugs,” he said.
in other developments, he said that the Prisons Department has set a date to allow officials from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) to question an inmate about a Taiping Prison inmate who was believed to have died after being beaten.
“Two SUHAKAM officials have contacted the Prison Department director-general, and will have a meeting soon... as to what was reported, will KDN, Prisons Dept (cover up the issue), the answer is no.
“The Parliamentary Select Committee, the Human Rights and Security Committee have called the KDN, if the KDN wanted to hide, we would not attend, but we are going,” he said.
Saifuddin added that the Prisons Department would fully cooperate to investigate the case, but it required things to be done in order.
