M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
On 2nd March 2024, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government has agreed in principle to home detention for prisoners.
“The government has agreed in principle to implement the Licensed Release of Prisoners (PBSL) through home detention for prisoners serving jail sentences of four years and below as an effort to reduce overcrowding in prisons. We are currently in the process of examining the implementation method from the point of view of relevant legal provisions to ensure whether the existing laws and regulations need to be enacted or not,” the minister said.
During the June Parliament debate on the amendment to the Prisons Act 1995, and when it comes to voting, will the component parties of the Unity Government vote in unison on Najib’s house arrest as permitted in the amendment?
"The Act needs to be reviewed whether it is sufficient to amend the existing laws, or whether there is a need to enact a new law under the authority of the Prisons Department director-general or the Home Ministry. I asked the Home Ministry secretary-general (Datuk Ruji Ubi) to review and provide feedback. This matter must be expedited,” Saifuddin said as reported in The Star.
However, the following day, Saifuddin said the proposal should not be understood with a negative narrative of supposedly wanting to place certain individuals in house detention instead of being imprisoned behind a wall.
"I would like to refute this 'naughty' narrative played by a few media outlets, who claim that with the implementation of house detention, Najib (former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak) will be put under house detention. They are so mischievous. Can't people see the perspective of reducing the congestion in prison? Of course, there will be a panel to evaluate what kind of offences can be put under home detention,” he said as reported in the New Straits Times.
In a bold move echoing principles of accountability and collective responsibility, an MP has raised critical questions regarding Zahid’s support for Najib’s bid for house arrest. PKR's Pasir Gudang MP, Hassan Abdul Karim, minced no words, asserting that Zahid's actions tantamount to challenging the government itself, urging him to consider the precedent set by Musa Hitam's resignation in 1986.
There are many questions now Malaysians are raising on Najib’s house arrest Addendum as revealed by Zahid Hamidi.
- Has Zahid Hamidi seen the addendum order himself, or did he merely hear about it from International Trade and Investment Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz?
- If Zahid saw it, then how did it get into the hands of Zafrul who is not the home minister?
- If what Zahid says is true that all government members have seen the addendum order, then what was the intention of the Home Minister when he said he did not know such an order?
- Is it proper for a serving deputy prime minister to affirm an affidavit of this nature to disclose something highly confidential?
- How did this so-called addendum surface?
- Why wasn’t the house arrest issue included in the original pardon?
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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