DPM calls for review of laws on juvenile offenders
DATUK Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says they should be rehabilitated and not imprisoned. This will prevent them from committing more serious crimes in the future.
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called for a review of laws related to juvenile offenders.
Zahid, who is also home minister, said juvenile offenders should be rehabilitated and not sent to prison. He said this would prevent them from committing serious crimes in the future.
“We cannot just punish and not educate them. If we imprison youngsters, they will learn to commit more offences.
“The prisons will become a ‘school’ for them to commit heavier crimes. So, that’s why we (need to) separate them from the penal system and put them in institutions like the Henry Gurney schools,” said Zahid after opening the Crime Prevention Education Convention here yesterday.
He was responding to questions on the fate of 159 juveniles detained under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca) and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012.
He was also asked whether such children should be protected under a different act.
Zahid acknowledged that existing laws related to juvenile offenders could be improved.
He also said the curricula at Henry Gurney schools were “very effective” and this was why juvenile offenders were placed in those institutions to continue their studies. He also said they could study and sit for public examinations at those institutions.
“Most who come out of these places have negligible recidivism rate,” he said.
Zahid also called for the setting up of Crime Prevention Clubs in schools under the supervision of the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF).
He said the clubs should hold more outdoor activities instead of talks, and that the police were ready to assist teachers in this matter.