YOURSAY | Home detention should not be an option for former leaders

YOURSAY | ‘Has PM not learned the bitter lesson of Najib’s partial pardon?’

Will home detention be used to free powerful convicts like Najib, asks NGO

Blue Lights: Didn't Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim learn his bitter lesson already from the truncated sentence for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak?

If Anwar and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail were to employ home detention as a covert strategy for Najib to escape imprisonment, the trust deficit between Anwar and his government, and both Malaysians and the international community would worsen. It is already at zero level.

How much lower can it go? Beware, D-Day is coming. No need to wait for the 16th general election.

Apanama is back: When did our prisons suddenly become crowded, and when did we suddenly need home detention? 

There are too many coincidences where Najib is concerned.

Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), didn’t you people get the message from the discounted pardon?

You still can’t understand where all these are leading?  Even now, people are wondering if Najb is really in jail or if he’s under some kind of home detention.

The way he dresses up whenever he appears in court raises suspicion about the special treatment he might be receiving.

Najib was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Due to the feudalistic mentality amongst civil servants, he could be treated with kid gloves.

This will lead to one thing after another. 

Cogito Ergo Sum: This “home detention” is designed solely for Najib, the world’s biggest kleptocrat. Have we no shame?

The world helped us catch this crook. Then our government reduced his sentence via a pardon.

And now, he gets to spend his time at home, only to count and keep his ill-gotten gains. Did we elect a foolish administration that encourages the corrupt?

Or is it, as Malaysiakini columnist Andrew Sia said in his recent piece, “Such people should focus on fighting our real problems like ‘makan rasuah’.” Unless they believe this ‘cuisine’ is our real ‘national heritage’.”

Determined Sarawakian: Home detentions are also favourable for offenders who commit white-collar crimes, or miscreants or defaulters.

The basis of this criminology is simple. The objective is to separate those who commit violent, heinous crimes.

Even though I may agree to disagree when it comes to politicians stealing massive amounts from the nation, perhaps what’s required here is rehabilitation, to make these corrupt people conscious of their actions. Why not impose massive financial penalties on them?

Make them work and return money and effort. If they’re ageing, then make their families work to return them as well.

Any lagging or skiving from responsibilities, add the additional percentage of work. This could be a deterrent.

Also, they need to forgo every state and national title accorded to them and wipe their legacies off the books.

They must be remembered for the bad things they did to the nation.

Fair Play: Look at the bright side. We are already living in an open zoo environment and artificial intelligence will be the enforcer.

We may not realise it. Our app-driven mobile phone is already a tracking device monitoring our every movement and whereabouts when we carry it with us.  

Home detention would suggest that every prisoner would have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet which could be tracked and monitored by an AI.  

Imagine the cost savings to the government by implementing home detention with 24/7 electronic monitoring for those who have committed lesser crimes.

Variant: Incarceration should be reserved for those who can’t be reformed, who pose a significant physical threat to society at large, such as murderers, paedophiles, rapists, terrorists, robbers, and habitual perpetrators of assault.

I’d also like to propose that criminals who do not pose a significant physical threat to society be put into public works and sanitation services - basically, the work that nobody wants to do.

Knucklehead: It seems like the stage is being set for the National Embarrassment to be sent to the comfort of his home!

If that is the case, Anwar and his unity government can expect PAS to rule the country after the next general election, since no matter who we vote for, we will end up with “gone case” leadership.

We can all stop talking about Malaysian laws, MACC, and corruption. Just disband all of them and save billions of taxpayers' money.

It is a free-for-all. Now everyone can steal taxpayers' money!

MS: Will home detention be used to free powerful convicts like Najib? But, of course.

It was part of the one-two strategy from the beginning. Step one: sentence reduction (based on mercy and compassion).

Step two: a get-out-of-jail-free card delivered on a silver platter.  

Now who says that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin were the Dukes of Deviousness?

Geram: Home detention is for only those with light crimes and traffic offences. As for this the biggest kleptocrat in the world, it’s a big no-no.

Najib still hasn’t paid his fine to this day and was given a pardon on his sentence and fine. We are living in a world of fools.

Freethinker: May as well shut down the prisons. Prisoners with home detention can enjoy the luxury of being served by helpers, watching TV, and spewing hate online.  

Those who can afford it can have a golf simulator at home, playing games and feeding the cat.  Sounds more like a retirement plan rather than a punishment.

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