Recidivism in Sarawak lowest in country, says minister
KUCHING: Sarawak has the lowest recidivism rate among convicted criminals in the country, says Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
She said the recidivism rate in the state was also among the lowest in the world.
“The state’s rate of recidivism, which is the tendency for a former or convicted inmate to reoffend, is only at a rate of 98 out of 100,000.
“This is the lowest in the nation and among the lowest in the world. Thus, the country’s Prisons Department is currently conducting a study to identify the factors contributing to such phenomena in the state,” she said at a press conference yesterday.
She had received a courtesy call from newly-appointed state Prisons Department director and Prisons deputy commissioner Mohd Andri Md Ridzwan at her office in Baitulmakmur II, Petra Jaya here.
Fatimah said her ministry had always maintained a strong relationship and collaboration with the state Prisons Department to assist efforts in reintegrating inmates into society before they finished serving their sentence.
“The ministry supports the Prisons Department in conducting the study in finding out the low recidivism rate in the state and anything we do must be evidence-based and decisions need to be driven by data.”
She admitted, however, that the stigmatisation towards former inmates was still high in society, which directly affected their employability and ability to look for legitimate income.
“Currently, there are trainings being conducted in prison which focus on the living skills of an inmate so they can generate their own income after leaving prison,” she said.
Fatimah said her ministry was now focusing on the support system for former inmates, including providing them with the capital to purchase equipment so they could be independent in sourcing income and reintegrate into society.
During the courtesy call, Mohd Andri invited Fatimah to officiate at a Licensed Inmates Release Outreach Programme (PBSL) 2022 in Sibu this Sept 20.
The programme aims to allow inmates with a remaining sentence of less than a year to be reintegrated into society by seeking employment in the job market and take part in community services and eventually reduce congestion in prison.
“To date, a total of 470 inmates have successfully completed the programme statewide since 2020,” Mohd Andri told reporters.
On a separate matter, Fatimah said her ministry was ready to face the year-end floods by working closely with other government agencies, including holding a flood evacuation simulation soon.