Why Malaysia is rethinking jail time with a new house arrest bill
Malaysia is working to pass a new law that would let some offenders serve their sentence at home instead of going to prison.
The country’s Home Minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, told Parliament on Wednesday, July 23, that the bill is in its final stage and has already received the green light from the Cabinet at the policy level.
He said the next step is to finalise the legal language with the Attorney-General’s Chambers before the draft is brought back to the Cabinet for final approval.
The proposal is part of efforts to reduce overcrowding in Malaysia’s prisons, which now house more inmates than what it was originally built to contain.
Official figures show that prisons currently hold 83,808 people, even though their maximum capacity is 76,311.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Takaichi sparks debate over Japan's non-nuclear principles
Overcrowding in these prisons has been attributed to the high number of remand cases, especially for minor drug offences.
Saifuddin said 35% of the prison population is on remand, many under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952.
To tackle this, the new law would require some offenders to stay in a fixed location, such as their home or a care centre, instead of being locked up while electronic monitoring devices are used to track their movements.
“The issue is the definition of ‘shackles’. One interpretation of ‘shackles’ is handcuffs, but I tend to interpret that as including various devices,” Saifuddin told lawmakers during a debate on the national human rights report.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim first mentioned the plan in his 2025 budget speech, saying house arrest could be a more practical punishment for certain offences.
The bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament once all legal changes are agreed upon.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
