Indonesia, Malaysia explore inmate exchange program

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian and Malaysian governments are exploring new cooperation in law and corrections through an inmate exchange mechanism.

In a virtual coordination meeting on Monday (April 21), Deputy for Immigration and Corrections at the Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, stated that a new approach to inmate exchange could be a mutually beneficial diplomatic move for both countries.

"We are open to exploring the possibility of exchanging inmates with the Malaysian government. If both parties agree, we will proceed to the technical discussion stage," Mataram remarked, as quoted from a written statement here on Tuesday.

He explained that Indonesia has experience in prisoner transfers, especially repatriating foreign prisoners to their home countries to serve the remainder of their sentences.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's director of the International Division and Prisoner Transfer, Deputy Commissioner of Prisons, Zulia Khamis, expressed enthusiasm for exploring the inmate exchange program.

She expressed Malaysia's keenness to learn more about Indonesia's prisoner transfer practices.

She believes Indonesia has successfully carried out inmate transfers with several countries, such as the Philippines, Australia, and France.

She affirmed that Malaysia is open to facilitating the transfer of Indonesian prisoners, especially those who have received final verdicts and meet specific criteria.

"We are considering the transfer of Indonesian citizens who have sentences, particularly those who are elderly, seriously ill, or have other special conditions that deserve humanitarian consideration," she stated.

This initiative reflects Indonesia and Malaysia's shared commitment to building a humane, transparent legal system and promoting bilateral cooperation in law enforcement.