PUTRAJAYA – Putrajaya’s proposed bill on house arrest is not meant to benefit the likes of incarcerated former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak or other well-connected individuals serving time.
Instead, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the bill is part of government reforms towards a restorative justice system.
Stressing that the bill is not intended to benefit any specific individual, Fahmi said a pilot project on house arrest has been ongoing since last year, with the initiative showing positive results so far.
The pilot project, he said, involved rehabilitation among 5,000 offenders convicted of “not too serious” crimes with punishments that did not exceed a certain number of years.
“The government’s intention is to reduce the likelihood of convicts returning to jail after they have been released, also known as recidivism,” Fahmi, who is also Communications Minister, told a post-cabinet meeting press conference today.
“Based on studies (on part of) the pilot project, the recidivism rate dropped to at least 15%, which is a good figure…the Prisons Department also saved about RM19 million from the initiative.”
Overpopulation in prisons is also a dire issue that needs to be addressed, said Fahmi, adding that the bill on house arrest is in line with previous laws passed by Parliament.
He named the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, which Parliament passed in July last year, giving judges discretion to impose life imprisonment instead of a mandatory death sentence for crimes such as murder and drug trafficking.
“Our prisons have a capacity of around 74 million, but last year, we had 87 million inmates. Now, (after the pilot project), we still have about 82 million incarcerated individuals.
“When we look at the ecosystem as a whole, (house arrest) suits the current times. Many other countries are also practicing restorative justice systems,” he added.
The minister said that findings from the pilot project were tabled during a recent National Social Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Fahmi added that Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had also provided a comprehensive explanation of the proposed house arrest law during the meeting.
During the tabling of Budget 2025 last week, Anwar announced that the government would introduce a law to allow house arrest as a form of alternative punishment for certain offenses.
The announcement stirred speculation that the bill was aimed at allowing house arrest for Najib, who is currently pursuing a judicial review in court over an alleged addendum order on his house arrest.
Najib has been serving his sentence in Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, after being found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The Pardons Board early this year reduced his prison sentence from 12 years to six and the fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
However, Najib contends that there is an addendum order issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.
Najib has since appealed the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision to reject his application for leave to undertake a judicial review, which he filed in a bid to enforce the purported supplementary order. – October 25, 2024