Successfully With Australia-France, Now RI-Malaysia Explores Prisoner Exchange Cooperation

A virtual coordination meeting between the Indonesian government and Malaysia, Monday (21/4/2025). (ANTARA/HO-Kemenko Kumham Imipas RI)

JAKARTA - The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia are exploring new cooperation in the field of law and correction through the exchange of PRISONers or exchange of prisoners mechanism.

Deputy for Coordination for Immigration and Corrections at the Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Indonesian Correctional Affairs I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram said a new approach in the form of exchanging prisoners could be a diplomatic option that benefits the two countries.

"We are open to exploring the possibility of exchanging prisoners with the Malaysian government. If both parties agree, we will continue to the technical discussion stage," said I Nyoman in a virtual coordination meeting yesterday, as quoted from a written statement Tuesday, April 22, which was confiscated by Antara.

He also explained that Indonesia had experience in moving prisoners, namely returning foreign prisoners to their home countries to serve the rest of their sentences.

Meanwhile, the Director of Happiness between the nation and the transfer of Banduan, the Malaysian government, Zulia, expressed his enthusiasm for the discourse on the exchange.

He said that Malaysia wanted to learn more about the practice of moving prisoners that had been implemented by Indonesia.

He saw that Indonesia was quite successful in cooperation in moving prisoners with several countries such as the Philippines, Australia, and France.

"This is interesting for us to study and adapt, especially in terms of transparency and protection of prisoners' rights," Zulia said on the same occasion.

Zulia also emphasized that Malaysia is open to facilitating the transfer of prisoners from Indonesia, especially those who have been sentenced in a fixed manner and meet certain criteria.

"We are considering moving Indonesian citizens who have been sentenced to permanent sentences, especially those who are elderly, are seriously ill, or have other special conditions, which deserve humanitarian consideration," he added.

The meeting was an important first step that opened up legal diplomacy space between the two countries, with the main goal of strengthening legal protection for their respective citizens and strengthening bilateral cooperation in the fields of immigration and correctional.

The next step will involve a technical team from both countries to develop operational procedures, exchange mechanisms, as well as criteria and requirements for exchangeable prisoners.

With this initiative, Indonesia and Malaysia show a shared commitment in building a legal system that is humane, transparent, and prioritizes regional cooperation in upholding justice.