KUALA LUMPUR – The Joint Committee for People’s Well-Being has agreed to a proposal to reduce the number of inmates, so as to curb the spread of Covid-19 in prisons.
Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Rais Yatim said the matter was decided after a second meeting of the committee today, which was attended by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
Rais said he was told that the country’s prisons are now overcrowded.
“The home minister said about 11,000 illegal immigrants will be deported within a period that the ministry will set next year.
“A total of 10,000 inmates, who are serving sentences of not more than three years, have been sent to rehabilitation centres to undergo training in various fields, such as construction, carpentry and plantation, or the 3D sector, with the support of the private sector,” he told reporters after the committee’s meeting in the Parliament building.
The matter requires improvements to existing provisions and legal procedures, he said.
“The committee has proposed that outdated procedures be resolved and done with, so this needs legislative action or amendments to the law.”
He said all proposals must be refined by the government for further action.
Two days ago, the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat agreed to set up the joint committee to find short- and long-term solutions to address the issue of coronavirus infections among the prison population. – Bernama, December 15, 2020
