KOTA BARU: The Prisons Department has completed the draft of the bill on home detention and has sent it to the Home Ministry.
Its commissioner-general Datuk Nordin Muhamad said the draft of the bill was submitted to the ministry's division which is in charge of prison, anti-drug matters and People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) in June this year.
"The division has raised the Cabinet Memorandum on the matter and it has received approval from the Cabinet.
"The next step is the preparation of the draft of the bill, which will be coordinated by the Home Ministry with the agencies involved," Nordin told the New Straits Times.
He said this meant that basic approval has been obtained at the Cabinet-level for the draft of the House Arrest Act bill.
"At the moment, the division and agencies involved are in the midst of preparing the draft and they will hand it over to the Attorney-General's Chambers once completed.
"If all goes smoothly, the bill will be brought to Parliament in the middle of next year," he added.
On Saturday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said a bill allowing house arrest as an alternative punishment for certain offences would be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next year.
He had said the Attorney-General's Chambers is now drafting the law.
Under the proposed law, offenders would remain in designated locations such as their homes, care centres or workers' dormitories for the duration of their sentence.
Under Section 43 of the Prison Act, a minister has the power to direct the director-general to implement parole and licensed release of prisoners.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had announced the matter of imposing house arrest during the tabling of the 2025 Budget on Friday.