Aziz Syamsuddin, a member of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, made his remarks in response to the riot at Malabero state detention center in Bengkulu on Friday night. The riot claimed the lives of five people.  

The incident has generated concerns about overcrowding in prisons. "The budget [to expand the prison island] has to be allocated. It's better than spending money on rebuilding the damaged buildings," said Azis on Monday.

Nusakambangan holds a number of maximum security prisons that house terrorists and drug convicts. Nusakambangan made headlines recently after 14 drug convicts were executed there last year.  

House Speaker Ade Komarudin agreed that some convicts ought to be sent to other prisons across the country to ease the problem of overcapacity.

"If the detention center is too crowded, the detainees should be moved to other places," Ade said on Monday.

"But the House and the government should also consider adding more detention centers to prevent this from happening again in the future."

According to the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, the number of inmates imprisoned in the country has doubled from 71,500 in 2004 to 144,000 in 2011. Meanwhile, the capacity of the country’s detention centers has increased less than two percent in the same period.

House Commission III plans to meet in April with the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the National Police to discuss the matter further. (vps/bbn)

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia