The Dewan Negara today passed the International Transfer of Prisoners Bill 2012 and the Strata Titles (Amendment) Bill 2012.

Deputy Home Minister Lee Chee Leong said during the winding-up session that the International Transfer of Prisoners Bill 2012, specifically formulated to bring back prisoners of Malaysian nationality arrested abroad, would only be feasible through bilateral relations with countries that agreed to sign the deal.

"Currently, 2,622 Malaysians including 481 women are being imprisoned in 59 countries for various offences including drug trafficking and credit card scams," he said, adding that 99 countries in the world practised the system of international transfer of prisoners.

NONE Lee ( right ) said in the prisons abroad, Malaysian convicts had to participate in the rehabilitation programmes there which varied according to the culture, religion and language practised.

"Being away from the family will to some extent influence the rehabilitation and reintegration process into the community. Therefore, there is a need for the International Transfer of Prisoners Act to be created."

He said the bill would also enable foreign prisoners to be transferred to their respective countries to serve their imprisonment and to undergo rehabilitation to facilitate reintegration into society," he said.

"Statistics from the Immigration Department and the Royal Malaysian Police show that more than 40,000 foreigners have been detained and charged each year for various offences including under the Immigration Act," he added.

Enhancement to Strata Title Act

Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Joseph Kurup in winding-up the debate on the Strata Titles (Amendment) Bill 2012, said the act was expected to overcome the issue of applying and registering strata titles for old buildings occupied before 1996.

The bill, he said, was an enhancement to the Strata Title Act 1985 which was amended four times - in 1990, 1996, 2001 and lastly in 2007.

He said during 27 years of implementation of the act, land administration throughout the country had successfully registered over 970,000 strata titles involving 15,000 multi-storey building schemes.

Apart from the two bills, the Dewan Negara also passed the Employees Social Security (Amendment) Bill 2012, to increase the age limit for eligibility to obtain the invalid and survivors' pensions from 55 years to 60 years.

The House will sit again tomorrow.

- Bernama