Crime and punishment in Malaysia

Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, Malaysia. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star

FOR decades, the Malaysian criminal justice system has relied on punishment and imprisonment as the mechanisms to reduce crime and recidivism (or repeat offenders).

Another argument, however, posits that prisons are ineffective based on recidivist statistics. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 67.8% of released state prisoners are arrested for a new crime within three years, and 76.7% are rearrested within five years. Interestingly, Norway and Sweden have a recidivism rate of only about 20%.