KAJANG, Jan 19 — Nearly one-third of prisoners nationwide are foreigners, a leading factor blamed for congestion in jails, Prisons Department director-general Datuk Zulkifli Omar said today.
Indonesian inmates, he said, made up the highest number at 5,000. Of this, more than 50 per cent committed offences under the Immigration Act, which includes slipping into the country illegally.
Statistics show that as of last Sunday, of the total 32,130 inmates held at 31 prisons nationwide, 10,833 are foreigners.
The prisons have a capacity to accommodate 36,740. As prison congestion is due mainly to foreigners, Zulkifli said the prisons department is restructuring the placement of the prisoners to solve the problem.
He was speaking to reporters after a visit by a group of Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) officials to the Kajang Prison here.
Zulkifli said the government has taken various drastic steps to overcome congestion in prisons, including upgrading the rehabilitation programmes of the inmates.
He said the parole system implemented by the government since last July, helped reduce the congestion.
“This year, 993 inmates completed their parole while 193 others are still undergoing parole,” he said.
MCPF deputy chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said society needs to give former inmates a second chance to start a new life after serving time in prison.
“We urge society to change their perception of the inmates and give them full support to start a new life,” he said.
He said rehabilitation aspects and the responsibility to treat former inmates should not lie solely on the prisons department but on all parties, as well, including non-governmental organisations and the private sector. — Bernama
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