Menkumham Immediately Revise Narcotics Law Regarding Rehabilitation Of Addicts, Here Are The Points

Yasonna Laoly/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham) Yasonna H. Laoly wants a revision of Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics which regulates the improvement of provisions for the rehabilitation mechanism for addicts, abusers, and victims of drugs.

"Regulations for addicts, abusers, and victims of drug abuse in the Narcotics Law have not provided a clear conception," Yasonna said in a Working Meeting (Raker) with Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Senayan Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, Thursday, March 31.

He assessed that the same treatment between addicts, abusers, and victims of drug abuse with dealers or dealers caused injustice in handling narcotics cases.

According to him, the handling of drug addicts is focused on rehabilitation with a comprehensive and accountable assessment mechanism.

"The integrated assessment team consists of medical and legal elements. The medical element consists of doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists; while legal elements such as investigators, public prosecutors, and community advisory teams," he explained.

He added that the assessment team will provide recommendations for drug addicts whether they can be rehabilitated or not.

In addition, he said the rehabilitation approach for addicts is the application of restorative justice, which emphasizes recovery efforts for victims, rather than imposing a prison sentence.

"Restorative justice is a measure of justice that is no longer based on retribution between victims and perpetrators physically, psychologically, or in punishment. However, it provides support to victims and socializes perpetrators to be responsible with the help of their families and communities," he said.

The rehabilitation approach is also an effort by the Government to reduce excess capacity in prisons.

The DPR Commission III working meeting was led by the Deputy Chair of the DPR Commission III Prince Khairul Saleh and attended by the Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly, representatives of the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Empowerment of State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform.

The working meeting took place with the agenda of listening to the opinion of the Government and factions regarding the revision of the Narcotics Law.