Malaysia’s anti-drug agency says over 21,000 clients achieved permanent recovery last year, surpassing international benchmarks for rehabilitation success.

KOTA BHARU: The National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) recorded an 81% permanent recovery rate among clients in its community-based programmes last year.

AADK director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said 21,794 out of 26,852 evaluated clients achieved recovery status in 2023.

“This achievement proves that AADK’s treatment modules are on the right track, and have exceeded the recovery rate reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is between 40 and 60 per cent,” he said.

Ruslin also highlighted a positive trend in voluntary admissions for treatment.

He said 1,500 drug addicts voluntarily reported to Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Centres (Puspen) nationwide last year.

“This voluntary admission shows an increasing level of awareness among addicts to seek treatment without coercion,” he explained.

The director-general linked this shift to a 2023 amendment to the Drug Addicts (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983.

He said those who come forward voluntarily are now regarded as patients requiring treatment, not recorded as offenders.

In Kelantan specifically, 147 clients are currently undergoing voluntary treatment at Puspen centres in Kota Bharu and Bachok.

 The Sun Malaysia