60pct of prisoners to be released on parole by 2030
About 60 percent of prisoners are to be released and serve the remainder of their sentence on parole by 2030, according to Prison Department deputy director (security and intelligence) Anathurai Kalimuthu.
He said despite the early release, the convicts will still be closely monitored by prison authorities, as reported by The Sun.
“This is a plan by the department as we approach...
About 60 percent of prisoners are to be released and serve the remainder of their sentence on parole by 2030, according to Prison Department deputy director (security and intelligence) Anathurai Kalimuthu.
He said despite the early release, the convicts will still be closely monitored by prison authorities, as reported by The Sun.
“This is a plan by the department as we approach 2030. They will serve part of their sentence behind prison walls and the rest of their rehabilitation under parole.
“Currently, we have about 6,000 convicts who have been put on this programme and are being closely monitored.
“I urge society to accept and give them a chance to change so that they do not become recidivists,” he said during the first annual general meeting of the Former Detainees Welfare Organisation (Popoc).
Popoc is a group representing former detainees of preventive laws and is helmed by reformed offenders.
Anathurai said the plan also seeks to ease the issue of overcrowding in prisons.
It is claimed that prisons only have the capacity to house 62,000 prisoners but are currently facilitating nearly 72,000 inmates.
Overcrowding
The Prison Department had attempted a "release on licence" programme in October 2020, identifying 11,018 individuals for early release.
Putrajaya has also set up temporary detention centres to deal with prison overcrowding.
Referring to 2020 statistics, Anathurai said that the Prison Department annually receives 190,000 new inmates.
In terms of recidivism, 14.8 percent of released inmates were found to continue committing offences and be reincarcerated.
“The number of recidivists is lower in Malaysia compared with other countries. In Singapore, it is 16 percent and in the US, it is 35 percent.
“Hence, we welcome organisations like Popoc to play a role in assisting released offenders to assimilate into society,” he said.
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