Between 25 - 37% of the total prison population in Malaysia are innocent - they are remand or pre-trial prisoners, and they are most probably there in prison because they are POOR(or come from poor families) and cannot afford Bail? Remember that everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
In 2015, for example, there were a total of 51,602 persons in Malaysian prisons, and about 25.8%(13,000) of them were remand pre-trial prisoners. This is shocking. Now, there are about '...59,600 convicts in prisons in this country.
This numbers may not even include the persons being detained in police lock-ups, and those being detained and restricted under Detention Without Trial laws like POCA, POTA and DD(SPM)A...
The POOR man who cannot afford BAIL will continue to languish in Prison as a remand prisoners until his criminal case is conducted and ended. At the end of the day, he may be found innocent, and will be released. The RICH on the other hand, will be out on BAIL continuing to enjoy life to the fullest (although in some cases, there may be a Bail condition preventing him/her from leaving Malaysia - but this happens in select few cases).
Malaysia needs to have a policy and law change so that no one who has yet to be convicted and sentenced by the courts after a full trial, should be detained in Prisons as remand or pre-trial prisoners. They may be POOR - so maybe, we may need to reduce Bail amounts - or maybe come up with a new system which does not require the immediate payment/deposit of bail sums... Maybe shifting it to a 'Bond' or an agreement by the sureties, etc to pay ONLY if the person released on Bail breaks the condition of the bail and not turn up in court on the fixed date for a NOT very good reason. Gross injustice when the poor are denied their liberty before being found guilty, convicted and sentenced.
Police Bail currently is a 'promise to pay in the event the Bail condition is breached' - so no need to raise or deposit any money. In court, however, the money needs to be produced and delivered - and it cannot be touched or used until usually the trial is over. The problem that many a poor man faces is the difficulty in finding the surety(PENJAMIN) - how many can afford really to give the money(which becomes inaccessible) until trial is over, and also face the risk that they may just lose it all?
When a person is in detention, it also affects also their family and dependents including children. It affects the employment, the income, the business...etc..If one is surviving selling food, even a detention period of a single day can significantly affect the family income...Remember also, that in Malaysia there is still no provision for paid 'administration of justice' leave for workers - When one is even called to attend at the Labour Department or the court as a witness, one has to take one's own annual leave - or unpaid leave....
Now many a poor person, because of their reality, may even choose to plead guilty even when their innocent to practically save time - serve the sentence and move on. This is also an injustice. Trials also need to be expedited, besides making it easier for per-convicted prisoners to be able to be FREE.
Voting Rights - Will these pre-convicted and sentenced prisoners, including those under Detention Without Trial laws, those in police lock-ups on remand get their voting rights? Are they been provided the right to be postal voters? If for a person sentenced to prison, should ,he not as a Malaysian still accorded the right to VOTE - there is nothing in the sentences that now deny him/her the right to VOTE. A bankrupt can still vote - so, why should a person serving a prison sentence not be accorded not just the right to VOTE - but the Opportunity to vote, maybe as a postal voter?
PUBLIC funds and resources is also wasted when persons who should not be in prison is languishing in prison...is it another way of benefiting some contractors who supply prison with food and other necessary services.
25-30% of the prison population is high - and think of the amount of money that Malaysia could save.
POVERTY - is that the reason why these people resorted to crime? Purse snatching, petty theft, robbery ...these are just some examples of poverty-linked crimes...We really need STATISTICS - the number of such offences in the different areas - that will also help government focus their effort to help these poor by giving them better income or sufficient income which will reduce crime. An 'index' is not so useful...
If the reason for the increase of crime is poverty...then, is it not a failure of the UMNO-BN government ...or maybe some Opposition State governments? Well, that is why we need the actual statistics of crimes...for the different towns, districts, states...and also the place of residence of these perpetrators...Important facts needed not just to lay blame ...but also responsibility of government - be it the Federal government, State government or Local government?
The ethnicity of the persons in Malaysian prisons is also very disturbing - There are about 50% Malays in Malaysia, but there are about 70% Malays in the Malaysian prisons. Is this not a definite failure of UMNO and/or the UMNO-BN government? More so, if these Malay prisoners are there because of poverty-linked crimes. We will discuss that in greater depth in a later post...
In 2015, for example, there were a total of 51,602 persons in Malaysian prisons, and about 25.8%(13,000) of them were remand pre-trial prisoners. This is shocking. Now, there are about '...59,600 convicts in prisons in this country.
This numbers may not even include the persons being detained in police lock-ups, and those being detained and restricted under Detention Without Trial laws like POCA, POTA and DD(SPM)A...
The POOR man who cannot afford BAIL will continue to languish in Prison as a remand prisoners until his criminal case is conducted and ended. At the end of the day, he may be found innocent, and will be released. The RICH on the other hand, will be out on BAIL continuing to enjoy life to the fullest (although in some cases, there may be a Bail condition preventing him/her from leaving Malaysia - but this happens in select few cases).
Malaysia needs to have a policy and law change so that no one who has yet to be convicted and sentenced by the courts after a full trial, should be detained in Prisons as remand or pre-trial prisoners. They may be POOR - so maybe, we may need to reduce Bail amounts - or maybe come up with a new system which does not require the immediate payment/deposit of bail sums... Maybe shifting it to a 'Bond' or an agreement by the sureties, etc to pay ONLY if the person released on Bail breaks the condition of the bail and not turn up in court on the fixed date for a NOT very good reason. Gross injustice when the poor are denied their liberty before being found guilty, convicted and sentenced.
Police Bail currently is a 'promise to pay in the event the Bail condition is breached' - so no need to raise or deposit any money. In court, however, the money needs to be produced and delivered - and it cannot be touched or used until usually the trial is over. The problem that many a poor man faces is the difficulty in finding the surety(PENJAMIN) - how many can afford really to give the money(which becomes inaccessible) until trial is over, and also face the risk that they may just lose it all?
When a person is in detention, it also affects also their family and dependents including children. It affects the employment, the income, the business...etc..If one is surviving selling food, even a detention period of a single day can significantly affect the family income...Remember also, that in Malaysia there is still no provision for paid 'administration of justice' leave for workers - When one is even called to attend at the Labour Department or the court as a witness, one has to take one's own annual leave - or unpaid leave....
Now many a poor person, because of their reality, may even choose to plead guilty even when their innocent to practically save time - serve the sentence and move on. This is also an injustice. Trials also need to be expedited, besides making it easier for per-convicted prisoners to be able to be FREE.
Voting Rights - Will these pre-convicted and sentenced prisoners, including those under Detention Without Trial laws, those in police lock-ups on remand get their voting rights? Are they been provided the right to be postal voters? If for a person sentenced to prison, should ,he not as a Malaysian still accorded the right to VOTE - there is nothing in the sentences that now deny him/her the right to VOTE. A bankrupt can still vote - so, why should a person serving a prison sentence not be accorded not just the right to VOTE - but the Opportunity to vote, maybe as a postal voter?
PUBLIC funds and resources is also wasted when persons who should not be in prison is languishing in prison...is it another way of benefiting some contractors who supply prison with food and other necessary services.
25-30% of the prison population is high - and think of the amount of money that Malaysia could save.
POVERTY - is that the reason why these people resorted to crime? Purse snatching, petty theft, robbery ...these are just some examples of poverty-linked crimes...We really need STATISTICS - the number of such offences in the different areas - that will also help government focus their effort to help these poor by giving them better income or sufficient income which will reduce crime. An 'index' is not so useful...
If the reason for the increase of crime is poverty...then, is it not a failure of the UMNO-BN government ...or maybe some Opposition State governments? Well, that is why we need the actual statistics of crimes...for the different towns, districts, states...and also the place of residence of these perpetrators...Important facts needed not just to lay blame ...but also responsibility of government - be it the Federal government, State government or Local government?
The ethnicity of the persons in Malaysian prisons is also very disturbing - There are about 50% Malays in Malaysia, but there are about 70% Malays in the Malaysian prisons. Is this not a definite failure of UMNO and/or the UMNO-BN government? More so, if these Malay prisoners are there because of poverty-linked crimes. We will discuss that in greater depth in a later post...
Director of Inmate Management of the Prison Department, SAC Nordin Muhamad said of the total, 71.3 percent of those in prison are Malays and 66 per cent of them are between 22 and 40 years old.
Source of Prison population data: World Prison Brief
Go visit the Source site, as our effort to cut and paste tables and graphs here below still makes it difficult to see the full table/graph.
Go visit the Source site, as our effort to cut and paste tables and graphs here below still makes it difficult to see the full table/graph.
Malaysia
Prison population total
Prison population rate
Pre-trial/remand prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the recent trend in the pre-trial/remand prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.It consists of the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that pre-trial/remand prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the pre-trial/remand population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
MALAYSIA
Year
|
Number in
pre-trial/remand imprisonment |
Percentage
of total prison population |
Pre-trial/remand
population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
2000
2005 2010 |
7,744
13,352 10,472 |
29.8%
37.5% 27.3% |
33
52 37 |
2015
|
13,186
|
25.8%
|
43
|
The pre-trial/remand population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
Female prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the trend in the female prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.It consists of the number of female prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that female prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the female prison population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
MALAYSIA
Year
|
Number of
female prisoners |
Percentage
of total prison population |
Female prison
population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
2000
2005 2010 |
1,246
2,322 2,544 |
4.8%
6.5% 6.6% |
5.3
8.9 9.0 |
2016
|
3,841
|
6.9%
|
12.5
|
The female prison population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
(If the rate were calculated on the basis of the number of females in the national population it would of course be approximately double the figure in the final column).
Prison population trend up to 2000
The figures below give an
indication of the prison population trend in the years up to 2000. They
supplement the more recent figures that are shown at the foot of the
Overview page and in the graphs below.
MALAYSIA
MALAYSIA
Year
|
Prison
population total |
Prison population rate
(per 100,000 of national population) |
1972
1974 1982 1986 1990 1995 2000 |
2,703
4,037 14,403 21,944 22,832 24,831 27,358 |
23
34 98 133 124 118 116 |
Prison population total
Prison population rate
The forum organised by the Malay Consultative Council in collaboration
with the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF), the Malaysian
Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam) and Utusan Melayu Bhd, was
attended by over 100 participants specially invited to find a more
effective plan to fight drug abuse.
Meanwhile, principal assistant director (International) of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) Hamizan Haidzir expressed concern over the rising number of drug abuse cases in this country.
In 2016 (last year), the number of arrests for drug offences stood at 30,844 people compared to only 26,000 in 2015 (the previous year).
"Drug abuse is on the rise throughout the world, particularly with the entry of synthetic drugs which have negative effects on the central nervous system."
Hamizan said the authorities will intensify its efforts to fight drug abuse by increasing the frequency of raids on premises with the aim to trace and arrest those involved in drug abuse.
-BERNAMA- Astro Awani, 14/6/2017
Some 33,500 convicts in prison because of drug abuse
June 14, 2017 21:25 MYT
Of the total, 71.3 percent of those in prison are Malays and 66 per cent of them are between 22 and 40 years old.
KUALA LUMPUR: Some 33,500
of the 59,600 convicts in prisons in this country are because of drug
offences and they represent 56 per cent of the total number of prison
inmates nationwide.
Director of Inmate Management of the Prison Department, SAC Nordin Muhamad said of the total, 71.3 percent of those in prison are Malays and 66 per cent of them are between 22 and 40 years old.
"What is worrying is the involvement of our citizens in drug abuse. Only 11 per cent of prisoners due to drug offences are foreigners," he said while sitting as a panel member of an anti-drug forum, here today.
Director of Inmate Management of the Prison Department, SAC Nordin Muhamad said of the total, 71.3 percent of those in prison are Malays and 66 per cent of them are between 22 and 40 years old.
"What is worrying is the involvement of our citizens in drug abuse. Only 11 per cent of prisoners due to drug offences are foreigners," he said while sitting as a panel member of an anti-drug forum, here today.
Meanwhile, principal assistant director (International) of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) Hamizan Haidzir expressed concern over the rising number of drug abuse cases in this country.
In 2016 (last year), the number of arrests for drug offences stood at 30,844 people compared to only 26,000 in 2015 (the previous year).
"Drug abuse is on the rise throughout the world, particularly with the entry of synthetic drugs which have negative effects on the central nervous system."
Hamizan said the authorities will intensify its efforts to fight drug abuse by increasing the frequency of raids on premises with the aim to trace and arrest those involved in drug abuse.
-BERNAMA- Astro Awani, 14/6/2017
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