Do tough laws deter drug crimes? Lessons from Singapore and Malaysia

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s 101 East examines how Malaysia and Singapore are taking sharply different approaches to drug crime and capital punishment. The program focuses on Malaysia’s ongoing policy rethink after the country repealed the mandatory death penalty for drug offences in 2023, a change that has led to the re-sentencing of more than 700 people who had previously been condemned to death.

The report says Malaysia is now considering additional reforms to its drug laws, while neighboring Singapore continues to defend strict enforcement as a deterrent. According to the published material, executions for drug trafficking in Singapore have increased in recent years, underscoring the contrast between the two countries’ legal systems and criminal justice strategies.

The documentary follows two inmates on death row, one in Malaysia and one in Singapore, and looks at how their cases affect their families. It uses those personal stories to explore a broader policy question: whether severe penalties actually reduce drug crime, or whether they mainly deepen the human costs for offenders and relatives.

The issue matters beyond the two countries because drug policy, sentencing reform and the use of the death penalty remain contested across parts of Southeast Asia. Background context: Malaysia has been gradually revising aspects of its criminal justice approach, while Singapore is widely known for maintaining some of the region’s toughest drug laws.