Projek Sama said a white paper was necessary to draw up a transparent and consistent process when it comes to determining prisoners’ eligibility for house arrest.

This, it said, would ensure that the initiative would not be abused to benefit criminals who may be deemed “privileged or powerful”.

The NGO claimed that home detentions have been abused in certain countries, benefiting “rich and powerful” convicts while other inmates were denied the opportunity.

“This white paper must be tabled and debated in Parliament before any changes are made to laws, by-laws or administrative orders,” it said in a statement.

On Saturday, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that Putrajaya had agreed in principle to implement home detentions for inmates with jail terms of four years or less.

The minister said the home ministry is looking into how to implement the initiative based on the relevant provisions in the law.

In October 2023, he told the Dewan Rakyat that the prisons department was planning to implement home detention and suspended sentences, with about 16,000 prisoners eligible to be considered for these alternative forms of punishment.