KUALA LUMPUR: Any new early prisoner release programmes should be debated and brought to Parliament before being enacted as law, says Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture.

Its spokesperson and human rights activist Charles Hector said the matter should be deliberated there instead of being decided by a single party.

“It is most important that victims of crimes get a right to be heard before the perpetrators are released earlier than the sentence meted out by the court,” he said.

Earlier, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Prisons Department had submitted a proposal to the ministry for an early release fast track programme under the Licensed Release of Prisoners (PBSL) for non-serious drug offenders under Section 12 (1) and 15 (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

However, Saifuddin Nasution said there will be stringent screening of those who may be eligible.

In April this year, Prisons Department director-general Datuk Nordin Muhamad told The Star that an estimated two-thirds of eligible inmates are targeted to undergo rehabilitation programmes within the community by 2030.

Last year’s statistics showed that 19,269 people have been placed in such rehabilitation programmes within the community, also known as PDK.

Nordin said the success rate for PDK was 95.77% last year.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/25/debate-early-prisoner-release-programmes