Jakarta (ANTARA) - Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly prioritized completing discussion on the bill of Second Amendment to Law No. 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics planned to be merged with the 1997 Psychotropic Drugs Law.

"This is a bill that has been discussed for a long time and even it has been decided at meetings in the House's Commission III several times. I hope it would be accelerated and resolved," Laoly stated during a working meeting at the parliament complex here on Wednesday.

Earlier, he said, the House had formed a working committee to discuss the Narcotics Law Revision Bill.

However, he said it was postponed to discuss the merger of the Narcotics Law with the Psychotropic Law.

"Further discussions are needed with the Commission III and related ministries and agencies," Laoly remarked.

He expected that the revision to the Narcotics Law can be completed before 2024 and become a legacy of the Commission III and the Law and Human Rights Ministry during this period.

He reminded that revision of the Narcotics law is one of the bills listed in the 2020-2024 Medium-Term National Legislation Program.

"If the (amendment to) the Narcotics Law can be completed, it will be a significant achievement, such as strengthening the integrated criminal justice system," the minister stated.

The revision of the Narcotics Law was widely discussed after the prison fire tragedy in Tangerang, Banten.

Provisions in the law were considered to be one of the factors that caused several prisoners to exceed the capacity of prisons.

The proposal for the incorporation of Psychotropic Law into the revised Narcotics Law has been worked on since February 2, 2022.

"It is time for us to repeal the Psychotropic Law and incorporate the law's (provisions) into the Narcotics Law," Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej stated.

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Translator: Putu S, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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