Malaysia’s plan to ease prison overcrowding through a proposed home detention law is stirring strong public reaction, as officials and advocates weigh the financial and social benefits against fears of over-leniency towards convicts.
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This came in light of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement of plans to introduce a new law allowing home detention as an alternative punishment for certain offences during the presentation of the 2025 budget in October.
The plan has sparked speculation that it may also allow jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to spend the remainder of his sentence in the comfort of his Kuala Lumpur mansion.
But the government has insisted it is about bringing common sense to the penal system.
Malaysia currently houses over 87,000 inmates in its prisons, with their capacity surpassed by over 17.6 per cent – a level deemed unsustainable and well above the global average.
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In a rare statement last Tuesday, the prison department endorsed the proposed law, citing the high costs of maintaining an overpopulated prison system designed for 74,000 inmates.