Proposed house arrest Bill unrelated to Najib’s apology

PUTRAJAYA: The proposed law on house arrest is unrelated to former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent apology over the 1MDB scandal, said government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil.

According to Fahmi, the proposed Bill on house arrest was part of the government’s efforts to shift from punitive justice to restorative justice.

“It has nothing to do with any individual.

“We are looking at the ecosystem as a whole and recognise the need for this shift.

“Many countries are practising the concept of restorative justice, and we are heading in that direction,” said Fahmi, who is also Communications Minister, during a press conference yesterday.

Fahmi said a pilot project was held last year, where 5,000 prisoners convicted of minor criminal offences had undergone rehabilitation under certain conditions.

“Following the project, recidivism rates (committing crimes again) dropped to 15%, which is very encouraging,” he said.

“The Home Ministry informed the Prisons Department that this process saved RM19mil.”

Fahmi said the study on the 5,000 prisoners was tabled at the recent National Social Council meeting, the third for this year.

“This shows the government’s concern on restorative justice and issues in the prisons. As a whole, we want to address this issue without affecting public safety,” he said.

Fahmi also mentioned overcrowding and that prisons currently hold 82,000 inmates despite a capacity of 74,000.

During the tabling of Budget 2025 last week, eyebrows were raised after Anwar, in an unread part of his speech, announced that the government would introduce a law on house arrest next year.

On Dec 5, the Court of Appeal will hear Najib’s appeal over the dismissal of his leave application for judicial review regarding an alleged addendum on house arrest.

Najib claimed that the addendum was issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong to allow him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.