600 prospects in Sabah for proposed house arrest bill

KOTA KINABALU (Oct 27): There are around 600 prospects in Sabah who have been identified for the proposed house arrest bill which was announced in the recent tabling of Budget 2025.

Sabah and Labuan Prisons director Nora Musa clarified that the proposal, which is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next year, would apply to Sabah as well.

Nora said this initiative would allow the identified prospects to serve their sentences from home, especially for those with health issues and from vulnerable groups.

She added that the 600 identified Sabah prospects are part of the estimated 20,000 offenders nationwide considered to be placed under the initiative.

“However, this house arrest proposal requires strong support and acceptance from the families of the prospects since they would be serving their sentences from home,” she told reporters after the state-level MyPRIDE Fair closing ceremony at ITCC shopping mall here today.

State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun who officiated the ceremony, added that the initiative is important for pregnant prospects serving time in prison.

“There have been cases of women prospects giving birth in prison, and I think that they require a better environment or ecosystem to raise their babies – a prison is not an appropriate place for raising their children,” he said.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had reportedly stated that the bill will consider first-time offenders who did not commit major crimes, pregnant women, senior citizens and inmates with disabilities, and it also applies to offenders of minor crimes such as poverty-stricken mothers sentenced to jail for stealing milk for her child.

Saifuddin had also urged any quarter not to politicise the matter, stressing that eligible offenders will still have to go through several layers of vetting and must have good disciplinary record while in prison.

The proposed law had raised concerns from several parties as they feared that it was introduced to benefit certain VIPs, including jailed former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Unity Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil has since denied such claims, saying that the bill is not meant for specific individuals but rather is part of the government’s efforts to adapt from a punitive justice to restorative justice system.