Building a roadmap and advocacy strategy for drug policy reform in Malaysia

Background: Since 2018, an active civil society movement made up of researchers, doctors, lawyers and community activists have been working with senior officials and ministers from the Malaysian government to introduce a new drug policy based on human rights and evidence for effectiveness. Changes in political leadership has been the most critical challenge in achieving the desired impact along with difficulties in building alliances with law enforcement agencies. 

Method: Since 2023, a formalised Drug Policy Reform Program, under Malaysian AIDS Foundation has taken a new strategic approach using the lessons learnt from the previous years of efforts in the field. Recognising the various aspects of drug policy, a Media Advisory Board, Legal Experts Team, Parliamentarian Caucus, Public Health Expert Group, Prison Reform Advisory Group and Community Voice have been formed to ensure strategic advocacy push from all angles. International expertise too, has provided valuable support to the collective learning and efforts in the country. 

Results: A roadmap consisting of 8 steps towards drug policy reform including i) Building national ownership ii) developing local data & evidence iii) providing law and policy review  iv) building capacity across stakeholders v)developing local definitions through international learning vi) providing alternatives to current structures and vii)expanding treatment facilities viii) strong monitoring and evaluation, was introduced. This roadmap has proven to provide better structure to the advocacy efforts in the country with some early indications of positive changes.

Conclusion: Drug policy reform advocacy is a mamoth task in countries with punitive approaches for drug related offences. The development of a clear step by step/staged approach is essential to ensure that a ground-up support is in place allowing politicians to champion the cause.  While the work is ongoing, a number of successes and challenges have been recorded. The impact of the Malaysian effort has far reaching implications for the Asia region and in the Muslim world. This presentation will outline the advocacy efforts that can be useful for countries with similar socio-economy to emulate.