{
  "id": 5357385,
  "title": "Overjoyed by Yasin’s release, frustrated by lack of drug law reforms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/overjoyed-by-yasins-release-frustrated-by-lack-of-drug-law-reforms-5357385",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T15:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2026/09/03/overjoyed-by-yasin-s-release-frustrated-by-lack-of-drug-law-reforms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Martin Vengadesan expressed great relief upon learning that singer and composer Yasin Sulaiman had been released from Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta after spending almost four years in captivity. It appears that the friend and former band member, Akbar Azmi, provided the final update on the situation on Wednesday. Yasin was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2024 and 16 lashes of the cane for three drug offenses. However, the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged him in April 2025 after reviewing medical reports and psychiatric evaluations that confirmed he suffered from bipolar disorder. Despite the joy of Yasin's release, Vengadesan remains disappointed that little progress has been made in the realm of drug law reforms. He finds it troubling that even after extensive debate, draconian punishments are still in effect and being enforced. One notable case is that of Dr Ganja, whose real name is Amiruddin @Nadarajan Abdullah, who escaped the gallows in July 2023 after years on death row. Additionally, former ambassador Zainal Abidin Alias and his son, as well as engineer Lukman Mohamad, were acquitted and discharged of drug trafficking and cannabis cultivation charges in 2023 and 2021, respectively. An engineer named Lukman Mohamad, who had been sentenced to death in 2018 for possessing 3.1 liters of cannabis oil, 279g of compressed cannabis, and 1.4kg of substances containing THC, was freed in March 2021. These cases highlight the ongoing issues with our current drug policies, which often target drug users and mules rather than the actual middlemen and cartel kingpins. Vengadesan points out that the existing policies have been a failure, given the disproportionate impact on individuals like Yasin. He wonders why there has not been more movement towards updating drug laws, especially when considering the struggles of abolishing the death penalty and ending child marriage. The reporter, a strategic communications consultant, emphasizes that this is his personal view and does not reflect the position of FMT.",
  "summary": "Why have we still not moved to update our laws?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Overjoyed by Yasin’s release, frustrated by lack of drug law reforms",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/overjoyed-by-yasins-release-frustrated-by-lack-of-drug-law-reforms",
        "published": "2026-09-03T15:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}