KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — A Bill on house detention is in its final stage of review, but it is aimed at remand prisoners and not convicted inmates, the Home Ministry told Parliament, even as a similar arrangement is being prepared for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In a written parliamentary reply tabled on Tuesday, the ministry said it is drafting a house detention Bill that focuses on remand prisoners.
“[At] present there is no specific legal provision under the Home Ministry or the Malaysian Prisons Department that allows a prisoner to serve a prison sentence at their own residence through a house detention mechanism.
“In this regard, the Home Ministry is drafting a Bill on house detention that focuses on remand prisoners, which is now at the final stage of review by the Home Ministry and the Attorney General’s Chambers,” the ministry said.
The reply was to a question from Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham, who asked under which legal provision a prisoner may be allowed to serve a sentence at home.
The reply pointed instead to Article 42 of the Federal Constitution, saying a prisoner may be considered for a pardon, a reduction or commutation of sentence, or a stay of execution, subject to the Pardons Board and the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, a Ruler or a Yang di-Pertua Negeri.
It added that a Conditional Pardon, a prerogative power exercised on the advice of the Pardons Board, “must be distinguished” from a house detention order under a specific law. The ministry did not name any individual.
The reply comes after Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Oct 18 that the Prisons Department was in the final phase of drafting regulations and conditions to implement house arrest for Najib.
The King granted Najib a conditional pardon last month allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine.
Saifuddin said at the time that the country had never had house arrest before, and that a letter from the Pardons Board secretariat allowed the Prisons Department to impose any conditions. He said Najib remained in Kajang Prison because the fine had not been paid.
