JOHOR BARU: He was a budding property agent who had his first run in with the law almost a decade ago, when he was arrested in his mid 20s.
Wanting to be known only as Lim, he said he was detained after a man who owed him money invited him to an office in Kuala Lumpur to collect it.
However, when Lim arrived, the man had called the police, accusing Lim of making threats.
Lim was detained for a day but never charged, and the case was classified as No Further Action (NFA).
Now in his 30s and a father, Lim recounted how he had gotten hooked on party drugs while entertaining clients.
During a raid at a party in Kuala Lumpur in 2020, he was arrested.
“My urine tested positive for drugs, so I was charged in court and fined RM3,000. I was also ordered to undergo two years of supervision,” he added.
Since then, he says his life has been a “nightmare.”
Despite being a first-time offender with no jail time, he has lost nearly five job opportunities as he was branded a “criminal” because of his record.
“People think that just because I was arrested after someone filed a report against me, I’m a criminal. And because I was fined for drug use, I carry the stigma of being an addict,” said Lim, who now volunteers at Geha Bodhi Care Centre in Kuantan, helping rehabilitate drug addicts.
Lim said that despite having 6As and 4Bs in SPM, he was unable to get a job as a Grab driver, tour guide or clerical job because of his “past records”.
“Nearly every job application asks if applicants have been convicted of a crime. I did not commit anything but because my name is on police record, I declare it and my job application immediately gets rejected,” he said, adding that he did not give up and upskilled himself to become a recovery coach, providing non-clinical recovery support to individuals battling addiction.
He added that the government’s decision to amend the Registration of Criminals and Undesirable Persons Act was timely as many people were falling between the cracks.
“I’ve seen many relapse into addiction because they can’t secure steady jobs due to their past. The only work they find is often illegal, like loan sharking or gambling,” he said.
Lim added that even those who wanted to pursue skills training under Technical and Vocational Education and Training were also at a disadvantage as the form requires them to disclose their past records.
Meanwhile Geha Bodhi Care Centre chairman Lam Kai Cheong hopes the government would adopt a system of automatically expunging the records of those who have not committed any crime or show good behaviour within a 10-year period.
“People should be given a second chance if they have realised their mistake and have done their time.
“Not everyone is a hardened criminal. Society needs to be kind to such people and help them get back on their feet so that they do not become a burden to society by going back to their bad ways due to the lack of jobs or opportunities,” he said, adding that their centre was actively helping to rehabilitate dozens of drug addicts.
It was reported that Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said that the amendments aim to wipe the slate clean for certain categories of people whose names were recorded by the authorities but have no criminal records.
Presently there are about one million names on record.
