Targeted under the House Arrest Act are 20,000 inmates on remand

To address the issue of prison congestion, the House Arrest Act, which is scheduled to be introduced next year, would target 20,000 inmates now in remand detention.

Remand inmates in prisons with significant criminal charges are exempt from the statute, according to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

According to his statement, the prison can accommodate just 74,000 inmates, yet there are currently 87,000 inmates nationwide.

“At the same time, we put 5,000 inmates into the community, and as of right now, there are still 8,000 inmates in excess.

“Twenty thousand of the inmates in the entire prison are remanded there while their cases are pending.

“Our priority for the House Arrest Act, which will be introduced next year, is remand inmates. They will be exempt, nevertheless, in circumstances of major criminal activity.

The problem of jail overpopulation can now be resolved using this strategy. He stated, “A lot of people get the wrong idea when we say the House Arrest Act only targets ‘one’ while we are targeting thousands of remand inmates.”

He made this statement at a news conference following today’s opening of Tanjong Bunga National High School’s (SMK) Santuni Madani Program. Additionally in attendance was Datuk Nordin Muhamad, the Director General of the Prisons Department.

Speaking further, he stated that special apprentices will be assigned to supervise individuals who are detained at the house.

“The cabinet has already made the fundamental choice for us to begin the act. Prior to its presentation in Parliament, we will interact with different parties in engagement sessions,” he stated.

The government will pass a new law that would permit house detention as an option for some offenses, according to earlier media reports.

The Budget 2025 address that was given to the Dewan Rakyat included the information.