PETALING JAYA: Only 500 of the 11,000 non-violent criminals eligible for early release under a programme announced by the Prisons Department have been freed, PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar revealed tonight.
The programme was drawn up to prevent overcrowding in detention centres and the uncontrolled spread of the Covid-19 virus there. The Permatang Pauh MP said the number released so far was “hardly sufficient”.
“Despite the pronouncement and plans to release thousands of prisoners, to date, we have been informed that only 500 were released. This is hardly sufficient,” she said in an interview on Astro Awani to discuss prison reform.
Nurul, who is part of the all-party parliamentary group for the reform of all places of detention (APPGM-RAPD) said there had been no response from the home ministry on why only 500 had been freed.
In January, the APPGM-RAPD had called for 11,000 non-violent minor offenders who were sentenced to less than a year to be released to reduce overcrowding in prisons in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
It said that the Prisons Department had already identified prisoners for the Release on Licence (ROL) programme.
Nurul also said that the department had a blueprint to release 75% of eligible non-violent criminals and all that was needed was “action from those in power”.
She said there was a need to release as many prisoners as possible as many clusters from prisons have emerged and they were infecting those in the community.
Nurul went on to say that prisons nationwide had the capacity to hold 52,000 people, but as of November 2020, a total of 62,000 had been incarcerated.
Of the number, more than 10% or 6,470 had contracted Covid-19.
“But what is of more concern is the announcement by the defence minister that the government is mulling to put more people in prison for flouting the movement control order.
“We need a systematic approach. If we delay, more will be infected.” - FMT
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