KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed amendments to the Prison Act will be referred to two parliamentary select committees for further scrutiny, delaying their passage after lawmakers called for a closer review of several provisions raised during debate.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the government had agreed to send the Prison (Amendment) Bill 2026 back to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Security and the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Elections and Institutional Reform before proceeding further.
“Under Standing Order 62, on behalf of the Home Ministry, I seek to defer the Prison (Amendment) Bill 2026.
“The ministry agrees to refer the Bill again to the two parliamentary select committees for further examination,” he said when winding up the debate in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (June 25).
The move was subsequently approved by Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Ramli Mohd Nor after the winding-up session concluded.
Shamsul Anuar said the Bill had previously been presented to both select committees on Oct 29, 2025, and again on June 16 this year.
“In general, both committees responded positively to the amendments proposed by the ministry,” he said.
Earlier, he said the amendments focused on four key areas, including addressing prison overcrowding through a more dynamic rehabilitation approach.
“I do not have the exact figures on prison overcrowding, but it is acknowledged that our prisons are holding more inmates than they were designed to accommodate,” he said.
He said the amendments also aimed to strengthen governance, security and prison operations while enhancing rehabilitation, vocational training and employment programmes for inmates.
In addition, the Bill seeks to increase community participation in supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into society, he added.
Shamsul Anuar said the Prison Act 1995 was last amended in 2015, while the latest reform process had gone through the required procedures, including Cabinet approval on July 5, 2024, and June 5 this year.
Among the proposed amendments are provisions allowing the use of electronic monitoring devices and the appointment of volunteers to support inmate rehabilitation programmes.
The Bill also introduces a new section empowering the Commissioner General of Prisons to order the installation of electronic monitoring devices on prisoners in custody, as well as those released on licence or parole.
