FOREIGNERS ALMOST ONE-THIRD OF TOTAL INMATES IN NATIONWIDE

KAJANG (Malaysia), Jan 20 (Bernama) -- Nearly one-third of prisoners nationwide are foreigners, a leading factor blamed for congestion in jails, Prisons Department director-general Zulkifli Omar said Tuesday.

Indonesian inmates, he said, made up the highest number at 5,000. Of this,
more
than 50 per cent committed offences under the Immigration Act, which includes
slipping into the country illegally.

Statistics show that as of last Sunday, of the total 32,130 inmates held at
31
prisons nationwide, 10,833 were foreigners. The prisons have a capacity to
accomodate 36,740.

As prison congestion is due mainly to foreigners, Zulkifli said the prisons
department was restructuring the placement of the prisoners to solve the
problem.

He was speaking to reporters after a visit by a group of Malaysian Crime
Prevention Foundation (MCPF) officials to the Kajang Prison here.

Zulkifli said the government had taken various drastic steps to overcome
congestion in prisons, including upgrading the rehabilitation programmes of the
inmates.

He said the parole system implemented by the government since last July,
helped reduce the congestion.

"This year, 993 inmates completed their parole while 193 others are still
undergoing parole," he said.

MCPF deputy chairman Lee Lam Thye said society needed to give former
inmates a second chance to start a new life after serving time in prison.

"We urge society to change their perception of the inmates and give them
full support to start a new life," he said.

He said rehabilitation aspects and the responsibility to treat former
inmates should not lie solely on the prisons department but on all parties, as
well, including non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

-- BERNAMA