Looking at the current practices, as mentioned in the early part of this chapter, there was a call by the government to examine restorative justice for the purpose of applying some, if not all, of its principles and practices.

This call, which was made in 2011, has not been fully realised as restorative justice until now so is yet to be incorporated into the country’s criminal justice. Furthermore, the government has not officially looked at the possibility of applying restorative justice principles as contained in Islamic law.

Nevertheless, many are hopeful that amendments that could recognise and restore the lost rights of victims of crimes can at least be made to the Criminal Procedure Code and to a few other provisions. However, the developments are being made at a slow pace, as the government has been careful in studying the possible risks and effects. This is because restorative justice where victims are the centre of prosecution, offenders are to accept liability and make amends for the victims, and in so doing, the community is also to play a role, is regarded as a ‘new thing’ to the current criminal justice system of the country.

Starting from 2010, the country’s Criminal Procedure Code was amended to bring in some changes that seemed to be in favour of the victim. Amendments such as victim impact statements and compensation for victims were introduced. Furthermore, the Domestic Violence Act was also amended in 2017; among other things, it provides more and immediate protections for victims against their abusers. Although impris­onment is still the ‘favourite’ kind of punishment, the government is making active efforts to find more effective measures to rehabilitate inmates.

A.