REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government has allocated funds of Rp1 trillion (approximately US$89 million) for the renovation of several prisons throughout the country.
"The funds will be available in early 2014. [The renovations] should be well planned. Thorough studies are being conducted in several prisons," Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Denny Indrayana said on Wednesday.
Among the prisons that will be renovated are Tanjung Gusta Penitentiary in Medan, North Sumatra, which had previously caught on fire, and a few special penitentiaries for women and children, he stated.
Most of Indonesia's prisons are currently overcrowded, he remarked.
"In all regions, the (prisons) are more than 70 percent above capacity," he said.
Therefore, penitentiary renovation will become a priority of the ministry in the near future, he noted.
Another priority of the ministry is public service improvement, he claimed, adding that several licensing services will be made available online.