• 2 months ago
The government denies claims that the House Arrest Bill (RUU) was enacted to free former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

At a press conference following the Cabinet meeting on Friday (Oct 25), Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil clarified that the Bill supports a shift t from punitive to restorative justice.

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Transcript
00:00What are the conditions to release or release Datuk Seri Najib Razak and other VIPs from prison?
00:09Oh, this is not true. So, recently, in the National Social Council meeting,
00:15which was chaired by the Ministerial Staff Committee,
00:20and which the Ministerial Staff Committee in the country has given a comprehensive context,
00:26the discussion on the transfer or the creation of a new article on detention at home
00:37started at the beginning of last year in the context of what is referred to as
00:42the change of government's view from punitive to restorative justice,
00:52where the concept of justice is to return an individual who has been found guilty back to the community.
01:01Among the government's desires, first, we found last year that the number of people in prison
01:09is more than the capacity that it should be.
01:13The capacity of our prisoners is around 74,000, but last year there were 87,000.
01:25So last year, a pilot project was held where 5,000 people
01:31went through the process of rehabilitation in the community.
01:39Some of them were subject to certain conditions,
01:46and some were released early.
01:53And most of them are among those who are perhaps referred to as
02:04cases that are not too serious, not involving murder, for example,
02:11or cases where the sentence is more than a number of years,
02:17so cases that are considered not serious.
02:21The intention is to reduce the possibility of these perpetrators returning to prison after they are released.
02:30This is referred to as recidivism.
02:33Based on research carried out on this pilot project involving around 5,000 people,
02:40it shows that the rate of recidivism has dropped to around 15%.
02:49This is a fairly good figure, and last year,
02:52the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Prisons
02:58received a contribution of around RM19 million.
03:04So in this pilot project, it can be expanded,
03:12because at this time there are still 82,000 people in prison,
03:18while our prisons have a capacity of 74,000 people.
03:23And one of the things that needs to be done is the detention at home.
03:29So a special document needs to be submitted,
03:34taking into account the existing laws,
03:37and also the definition of several aspects in terms of detention.
03:43This has been discussed since last year,
03:45and the intention is in line with what we call restorative justice.
03:50So if we look at what the government has been doing,
03:55including the moratorium on death penalty, mandatory,
04:06and also the changes that have been made,
04:10which do not bind the judges to the mandatory death penalty,
04:19then we can see that overall,
04:22this is a government attitude that is more in line with restorative justice.
04:28It has nothing to do with individuals,
04:31but when we look at the ecosystem as a whole,
04:34we need to act in accordance with the times.
04:39Many countries practice the concept of restorative justice,
04:44and we are also heading in that direction.
04:46And as I mentioned earlier,
04:50these mandates can be more accepted by the community
04:54when they spend their detention in the community.
05:02And that can help reduce the cost, burden,
05:06and also the pressure on the social system in our country
05:11when we are able to control the recidivism that I mentioned earlier.
05:19I'm sorry for the exaggeration, but I think I need to explain.
05:23My name is Ayati from Benama.
05:25Do you know the duration of the investigation?
05:29It was six years ago until now.
05:32So, there is a report that was published in the National Social Council
05:37a few days ago,
05:40before the launch of the National Social Basis.
05:44So, the National Social Council meeting was held three times this year.
05:50And this confirms how important it is for the government
05:55to look at the social issues that are affecting the people in our country,
06:01including the issue of justice,
06:05and what I mentioned earlier as restorative justice.
06:09We want to address the problems faced by the Ministry of Prison
06:13as a whole,
06:17without hindering the safety aspect for the public.

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