KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- The Prisons (Amendment) Bill 2026, tabled for its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat today, proposes the establishment of prison volunteers to assist in implementing inmate rehabilitation programmes.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, when tabling the Bill, said it comprises 12 clauses and four subclauses, including a new section relating to volunteers to assist prison officers in implementing rehabilitation programmes under the Prisons Act 1995.
He said the amendments are aimed at ensuring that legal provisions related to prison management remain relevant and responsive to developments in the country’s correctional services, as well as in line with international best practices.
“The proposed new Section 66A aims to give the commissioner-general the power to appoint any number of volunteers as necessary to assist prison officers in carrying out rehabilitation programmes under the Prisons Act 1995 (Act 537),” he said.
Shamsul Anuar said community involvement was one of the four key focus areas addressed by the Bill, in addition to addressing the issue of prison overcrowding, strengthening prison governance and security and enhancing inmate rehabilitation, skills training and employment programmes.
In addition, Shamsul Anuar said the Bill also proposed the installation of electronic monitoring devices on certain inmates to monitor their movements and whereabouts, whether inside or outside prison boundaries.
“This section also provides for offences and penalties for non-compliance with the terms and conditions, as well as acts of tampering with, damaging, destroying or removing electronic monitoring devices that have been installed,” he said.
Under the Bill, Shamsul Anuar said, the general penalty is also proposed to be increased from a fine not exceeding RM500 to RM5,000 and imprisonment from a term not exceeding six months to a term not exceeding one year for offences or breaches of regulations under Act 537 that are not expressly provided for.
At the same time, he said the Bill seeks to expand the definition of “prisoner” to include inmates released on licence under Section 43, in line with the Malaysian Prisons Department’s target to enable two-thirds of eligible inmates to undergo community-based rehabilitation programmes by 2030.
He said the Bill also proposes the establishment of a new section to protect prison officers or any individuals acting under the orders, directions and instructions of the commissioner-general from legal action.
The sitting was adjourned until tomorrow.
-- BERNAMA
