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New Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Community service option extended to more offenders
KUALA LUMPUR: The Offenders Compulsory Attendance (Amendment) Act 2025, aimed at broadening the category of offenders eligible for mandatory community service in place of imprisonment, has been passed by the Dewan Rakyat today. The proposed amendments will allow offenders convicted of crimes punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment, and who reside near a compulsory attendance centre, to be eligible for alternative sentencing. Individuals facing imprisonment for failing to pay fines will also qualify under the revised law. Offenders will be required to undertake compulsory work for a period not exceeding 12 months and no more than four hours a day. However, before granting such an order, the court must assess whether the offender would be adequately punished by a prison sentence not exceeding three years, and take into account the individual's character, as stipulated in the amended Section 5(1A) of the Offenders Compulsory Attendance Act 1954. "Up to July 25, 2025, 8,225 people have received such an order. This shows that this is not new," Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said in his winding-up speech. Responding to government backbencher Lim Lip Eng's (PH–Kepong) suggestion to utilise electronic monitoring, the deputy minister said an amendment is in the works. "I would like to inform you that the Prisons Department has taken note of this proposal. "The Prisons Act 1995 is being amended, which includes a suggestion on using electronic monitoring as a method," he said. Shamsul also clarified that remand detainees and prisoners were already separated in prison. "This separation is important to ensure that people facing trial are not exposed to negative influences or security risks from convicted inmates. "We have already been doing this for a long time," he said.
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Community service option extended to more offenders
KUALA LUMPUR: The Offenders Compulsory Attendance (Amendment) Act 2025, aimed at broadening the category of offenders eligible for mandatory community service in place of imprisonment, passed its third reading in the Dewan Rakyat today. The proposed amendments would allow offenders convicted of crimes punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment, and who reside near a compulsory attendance centre, to be eligible for alternative sentencing. Individuals facing imprisonment for failing to pay fines would also qualify under the revised law. Offenders will be required to undertake compulsory work for a period not exceeding 12 months and not more than four hours a day. However, before granting such an order, the court must assess whether the offender would be adequately punished by a prison sentence not exceeding three years, and take into account the individual's character, as stipulated in the amended Section 5(1A) of the Offenders Compulsory Attendance Act 1954.
