Datuk Shahul Hamid warns that mandatory jail terms and limited alternatives are driving dangerous prison overcrowding, calling for bold reforms and strong political will.
PETALING JAYA: Imprisonment must be treated as a last resort, and Malaysia urgently needs bold sentencing reforms backed by strong political will, according to criminologist Datuk Shahul Hamid Abdul Rahim.
He said Malaysia’s prison congestion has reached a point at which incremental fixes were no longer sufficient, adding that what the country needs is a “fundamental shift” in how it approaches crime, punishment and rehabilitation.
“The main driver of overcrowding is the imprisonment of individuals for minor and non-violent offences that could be resolved through alternative measures,” he told theSun.
He said these offences include casual drug use, petty theft, low-level economic crimes and administrative violations, categories which in many developed jurisdictions are commonly diverted to community sentences, treatment programmes or rehabilitation initiatives.
“Too many people are being sent to prison for offences that do not involve violence or threats to public safety. These are cases that can be handled through non-custodial options, but our current laws and policies still prioritise imprisonment as the primary response.”
He said detainees held on remand also contribute significantly to the overcrowding issue, with high remand rates, slow court processes and prosecution delays often resulting in individuals spending lengthy periods in custody long before their cases are heard.
Mandatory minimum sentencing provisions, especially in drug-related laws, further restrict judges from imposing alternative punishments, even when the circumstances warrant it.
“Mandatory imprisonment ties the hands of judges. When the law prescribes a custodial sentence, no alternatives can be offered even if they are more appropriate. This has wide ripple effects on prison capacity,” he said.
He added that inadequate rehabilitation programmes, high recidivism rates and the lack of post-release support worsen the situation.
Malaysia’s limited community-based facilities, such as halfway houses, monitoring units and local rehabilitation centres, mean many low-risk offenders are sent to prison simply because no viable alternatives exist.
Drug addiction remains one of the biggest drivers of imprisonment.
Many individuals behind bars are there for personal drug consumption rather than trafficking, yet receive no structured treatment outside prison.
“In many countries with lower prison densities – Europe, the Asia-Pacific and parts of Asia – non-custodial sentences, diversion programmes and drug treatments are widely used. Malaysia still leans heavily on a prison-centric model,” he said.
On whether offences suitable for non-custodial sentencing are being diverted, Shahul Hamid said many categories should be prioritised for alternatives, but are not.
“These include non-violent offences, (mild) drug use cases, minor traffic offences and juvenile cases. Young offenders should be directed to educational or rehabilitation centres, but gaps in the law, limited programmes and conservative sentencing practices prevent this from happening,” he said.
He added that while judges have discretion, their ability to impose alternative sentencing is limited by the absence of comprehensive sentencing guidelines and by infrastructure constraints.
“A judge may want to impose a community sentence, but if there is no monitoring unit or community correction centre available in that district, prison becomes the default option.
“Prison must be the absolute last resort. With proper legal reforms, structured implementation of non-custodial alternatives and holistic support for low-risk offenders, Malaysia could reduce costs, enhance public safety and strengthen rehabilitation outcomes. But all this requires strong political will. Without it, the overcrowding problem will persist, no matter how many new prisons we build.”
On Monday, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah told Parliament that the number of inmates held in prisons nationwide has exceeded 84,000, surpassing the maximum capacity of 76,000.
He said 84,143 individuals are currently being housed in prison facilities, while another 6,640 inmates are undergoing community-based rehabilitation outside prison walls.
“The actual capacity of our prisons is 76,311. This shows that there is overcrowding, with an excess of 7,872 inmates beyond total capacity,” he was quoted as saying.
