Discussants included two senior prison officers, two senior staff development officers, a psychologist and a public prosecutor. For most cases, flexibility in the decisionmaking process appears to be the major issue in prisoner classification. The Malaysian hotline telephone service is not only extremely beneficial to ex-offenders who are able to maintain close contact with their counselors, but it also alleviates the need to schedule additional presonal interviews. Personnel training is adversely affected by financial shortages, low legislative priority, and shortage of personnel to perform training. Because of the prevalent custom of exchanging gifts in many countries in Asia and the Pacific, it is difficult to draw a line between a socially accepted custom and bribery. As long as the emphasis on rehabilitation of prisoners is not given, staff will continue to treat prisoners in a traditional manner to maintain order and discipline.