BY JACQUELINE DAVID
KUCHING: The government has agreed in principle to implement home detention for prisoners serving jail sentences of four years and below in an effort to reduce overcrowding in the country’s prisons.
The Licensed Release of Prisoners initiative will particularly apply to senior citizens, people with disabilities and pregnant women serving out such terms.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said his ministry was presently examining the implementation method, taking into account existing legal provisions and whether these provisions need to be amended or new laws enacted.
“All these will be done by the secretary general (Datuk Ruji Ubi) of the ministry and he will give the feedback to me, the ultimate goal is urgency,” he said at a press conference after opening the 234th Prisons Day celebration at the Puncak Borneo Prison Complex here, Saturday.
He said home detention will contribute significantly to reducing overcrowding in prisons nationwide and, at the same time, promote community correction among inmates, reduce government spending on prisons’ management and lower recidivism rates.
Saifuddin said through programmes such as the parole system, compulsory attendance order and community rehabilitation the government had not only been able to address prison overcrowding but also saved on costs.
He said these programmes have had a positive impact with statistics showing that out of 800 prisoners released only one was back in prison.
Meanwhile, on prisons in Sarawak, he said they had demonstrated excellence based on four indicators, namely low overcrowding, low remands, low recidivism and low imprisonment rate.
“Sarawak prison institutions have shown that they achieved international standards in correctional system management and imprisonment rate throughout 2023.
“Three of the four indicators set, namely the recidivism rate of 12.7 per cent, the total remand of 13.5 per cent and the overcrowding rate of -13.2 per cent are much better than the international standard level of 20 per cent.
“At the same time, the imprisonment rate is 119/100,000 population compared to the international standard of 145/100,000,” he said.
Based on the four indicators, Saifuddin said, the Sarawak prison institution has been announced as the best nationwide.
Currently, in Malaysia, there are 43 prisons, with Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, being the most crowded prison in the country.
Also present at the press conference were deputy minister Datuk Seri Dr. Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, ministry secretary-general Datuk Ruji Ubi and Prisons Department Commissioner-General Datuk Nordin Muhamad.
