KUALA LUMPUR: Suhakam yesterday lauded the move by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to repatriate foreign prisoners to their country of origin to serve the remainder of the prison sentences.

Commissioner Datuk Siva Subramaniam said the move was timely since most prisons in Malaysia were overcrowded.

"Since last year, the commission has visited 48 prisons and detention centres to evaluate the situation and found that many of them are beyond their capacity," he said.

He said among the prisons with the problem were Kajang prison, which was designed for 3,000 inmates but now houses 4,800 inmates, as well as the prison in Penang which was designed for 1,300 but now holds 2,000.

"It's a good move, and will save the government a lot of money," he said.
Syed Hamid had announced the move on Thursday, saying this would reduce congestion in Malaysian prisons.

Currently, some 30 per cent of prisoners held are foreigners.

Siva also welcomed the suggestion by Syed Hamid for khalwat and traffic offenders to perform community service instead of prison time for punishment of their offences.

He said community service activities, instead of prison time, could help rebuild the offenders' characters.