Palani Narayanan co-founded the first harm reduction in Malaysia (1991) and led the National Harm Reduction Pilot Program between 2005 -2007. He was the Senior Advisor on Harm Reduction at The Global Fund (2018 -2022). He is the Director of Drug Policy Program, Malaysian AIDS Foundation and SKPA-2 Program.

In July 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs introduced an amendment to one of Malaysia’s two laws guiding its National Drug Policy. While the amendment purports to be in the spirit of decriminalisation, punitive aspects were observed throughout raising concerns among experts in the Drug Policy Program Malaysia (DPPM). DPPM mobilised professional groups, community organisations, academic institutes and experts along with Members of Parliament to raise opposition to the amendments. Although the Bill was ultimately passed, the advocacy strategy achieved a number of successes that is useful for countries embarking on similar processes.
These include developing expert opinion on each section that was being amended, providing briefing notes to MPs, mobilizing opposition backbenchers and members of the coalition government. Utilising the Parliamentary Special Select Committees (PSSCs) DPPM provided input on decriminalisation resulting in a balanced discussion debate of the Amendment Bill 2024.
Results: 1. The mobilization and education of professional organisation provided a much needed discussion within the medical community which in turn resulted in larger expert level backing for drug policies based on science and human rights. 2. Of the 36 Members of Parliament who participated in the debate, 32 spoke in favour of decriminalisation, paving the way for a more sound and reasonable amendment of the dangerous Drugs Act 1952, to be amended through Ministry of Health in the future. 3. The role of people who use drugs in the advocacy for policy reform is critical and resulted in better understanding of the parliamentarians on the need to reduce stigma through decriminalisation. 4.Local research data on incarceration, user experience and cost of treatment all contributed to a balanced national debate
By actively participating in parliamentary processes, providing expert guidance, and leveraging bipartisan platforms , DPPM played a pivotal role in advancing the drug decriminalisation agenda in Malaysia.