KUALA LUMPUR: The House Arrest Bill is still being finalised and vetted by the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC), says the Home Ministry, more than a year after it was said to be in its final stage.
In July last year, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the bill was in its final stage and awaiting Cabinet approval.
In a written parliamentary reply to Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng dated Oct 6, the ministry said no house arrest order had been issued under a specific law.
"At present, no house arrest order has been issued under a specific law on house arrest, as the drafting of the bill is still in the process of finalisation and legal review by the AGC," it said.
The ministry said the Cabinet had agreed in principle to a legal framework allowing eligible remand prisoners to be held at home while awaiting trial, as an alternative to prison.
It said rules on monitoring and visits under the proposed law had yet to be decided.
"Matters relating to the obligation to install CCTV, wear electronic ankle bracelets or specific monitoring devices, as well as the categories of permitted visitors, cannot be finalised at this time.
"These aspects are subject to legal provisions, regulations and standard operating procedures (SOP) which are being finalised," it said.
Lim had asked how many house arrest orders had been issued and whether those under house arrest must be monitored by CCTV or electronic devices. He also asked what types of visitors are allowed.
The bill's status comes as Datuk Seri Najib Razak prepares to serve the rest of his jail term at home under a royal conditional pardon.
Without naming Najib, the ministry said a home placement under a conditional pardon was separate from house arrest under the proposed law.
"Therefore, a placement at home made following a conditional pardon decision cannot be directly equated with a house arrest order issued by the court under a specific Act," it said.
It said conditions for such a placement, including visits and movement monitoring, would be detailed through the relevant SOP.
On Sept 18, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, granted Najib a conditional pardon. It allows him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50mil fine.
Speaking the following day, Saifuddin Nasution said the proposed law was meant mainly to ease prison overcrowding involving remand detainees.
He said Malaysia's 41 prisons held about 93,000 inmates, against a capacity of around 75,000.
The High Court will hear Najib's application to stay his 15-year jail sentence in the 1MDB case on Oct 14.
