LETTER | Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil recently made an interesting remark that the proposed house arrest law is not tailored for any specific individuals, including VIPs.

He explained that the bill aligns with the government’s shift from punitive justice to restorative justice, aiming to reintegrate individuals found guilty back into society.

“The government’s focus is on reducing the overcrowded prison population, which exceeded the 74,000 capacity last year, with 87,000 inmates.”

The Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue (Acid) welcomes such an approach in integrating former convicts, but the timing it was said and its perceived link to the prior information surrounding the convicted former prime minister has raised eyebrows and cynicism among the Malaysian public.

In this context, the government’s move in relation to restorative justice would revolve around action rather than mere words of assurance.

The deeper question for the public is what really constitutes restoration and rehabilitation for the nation in the present context.

The country needs a broader dimension of restorative justice, not merely limited to prisoners.

Here are a few crucial dimensions the Madani government should pay attention to:

Restoring community relations

We need to restore trust among multi-ethnic and religious communities, where there are political and religious leaders who are bent on breaking trust by fermenting ethnic distrust and prejudice on vital political, social, economic and religious questions.

Does the government have a restoration plan to address these issues beyond the legal means? If it has, what are the plans and strategies?

Restoring institutional trust

Are there plans to restore trust in our government of the day, institutions like the MACC, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, cabinet, and Parliament, especially in relation to equality of all in the eyes of the law?

There have been feet dragging on the fate, of missing religious leaders, and assault on a disabled man, allegedly by certain personnel related to the royalty.

Are we still holding on to laws with colonial legacy links, that have oppressive elements such as the Sedition Act?

Restorative justice is critical for our institutions to gain public trust.

Restoring social justice

Have we incorporated the preservation of the environment in our constitution to ensure that the current and future generations are aware of safeguarding it?

Does our economy serve the common good or does it serve the corporate elites, to the detriment of workers’ well-being and the environment?

Are Malaysians today aware that restorative justice means the planet and people should come first in any consideration of profit?

The Madani government has a long way to go in restoring justice and solidarity among communities, institutions and the environment since the prime minister and Pakatan Harapan are tied to Umno, which has not reformed or learned from its past actions even though it went through a heavy electoral defeat in the last general election.

A government elected by the people and for the people must restore the country comprehensively so that we can avoid cynicism among thinking Malaysians who believe the house arrest proposal is nothing more than a plan to protect the interest of a convicted individual and his party.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.