Selangor Pardons Board gets tough with drug cases

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Pardons Board said today that it would not grant pardons “easily and arbitrarily” in cases involving drugs.

Each case seeking a pardon would be thoroughly scrutinised depending on the sentence meted out by the court, said Selangor deputy state secretary (management) Mazalan Md Noor, who is also secretary of the board.

The board would take into consideration the threat posed by drugs to national security and its effects on society as a result of trafficking, he said in a statement.

He said the board found that there had been many cases seeking pardon involving the trafficking of synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine.

The board was concerned about the increased trafficking of synthetic drugs via the airports in the state, namely the KL International Airport (KLIA) and klia2, he said.

Mazalan said the board was also concerned about the smuggling of drugs into the country by Malaysians and foreigners through various deceptions at the airports.

“The board is most concerned with the trend of increasing cases of trafficking in synthetic drugs because if these drugs filtered through the security control at the airports, it would be detrimental for the people of Selangor in general and those who consumed the drugs in particular,” he said.

He said it was public knowledge that synthetic drugs had an undesirable effect on the mental and physical health of individuals who consumed them, such as hallucinations and delusions as well as nerve and brain damage, besides health effects such as sudden weight loss and even death.

Furthermore, he said, peace and public order were undermined by the increase in crime such as murder, robbery, theft and other social phenomena due to drug abuse.

“As such, the board strongly reminds the local community and foreigners in Selangor to refrain from getting trapped in the smuggling, trafficking and abuse of drugs and other offences,” he said. -FMT