Nordin (front row, sixth right) seen in a photo call with senior officials of the Malaysian Prisons Department as well as the medal recipients during the event. Also seen is Sabariah (front row, third left). – Penerangan photo
KUCHING (Jan 27): The Malaysian Prisons Department will set up a special committee to study the success of Sarawak Prison in recording the lowest recidivism rate and controlling the problem of overcrowding in six prison institutions in the state.
Malaysian Prisons Commissioner General Datuk Nordin Muhamad said Sarawak Prisons recorded the lowest rate of recidivists or prisoners who repeatedly served sentences in prisons at 0.25 per cent compared to the average recidivism national rate of 13.86 per cent.
Apart from that, he said Sarawak Prison as a whole had managed to control the problem of overcrowding in six prison institutions in the state throughout 2021.
According to him, out of the six prison institutions in Sarawak, only two, namely Miri Prison and Puncak Borneo Prison, experienced overcrowding while the other four, namely Sri Aman Central Prison, Sibu Central Prison, Miri Central Prison, Limbang Central Prison and Bintulu Correctional Centre, recorded under-capacity in the number of prisoners.
He added that overall, Sarawak Prison had achieved a nine per cent reduction in inmates in terms of capacity.
“Based on the achievements of Sarawak Prison which we are very proud of, we at the headquarters will set up a special committee to study the success of Sarawak Prison.
“For us Sarawak is unique, because the congestion of prisoners can be controlled with a reasonable congestion rate, if 10 per cent or below the congestion issue does not arise but for the case of Sarawak as a whole it is nine per cent less than the total capacity set, not congestion.
“In other words, the capacity is able to accommodate more than the current number of inmates, whereas elsewhere many prisons face the issue of overcrowding,” he told reporters after officiating the 2021 Sarawak Zone Malaysian Prisons Department Medal Award Ceremony at the Sarawak Prisons Director’s Office, at Jalan Puncak Borneo near here yesterday.
Earlier, Nordin in his speech at the ceremony said that the study on the achievements of Sarawak Prison was very important and hoped it would be done soon, especially in terms of recidivism cases.
“The recidivism rate recorded in Sarawak Prison is less than one per cent. It requires a detailed study whether it is due to the system, the different priority processes practised or the culture and way of life of the Sarawak society that can be emulated.
“In our question today to uphold human rights, imprisonment is the last sentence. This is something that has been practised in developed countries – only one-third of the total number of criminal offenders are placed in prison institutions.
“While the other two-thirds are in the community, living with their families and still being able to support their families and the side problems that arise from imprisonment will not arise,” he said.
At the ceremony, a total of 21 persons received the highest medals from the Malaysian Prisons Department, namely the Pingat Johan Bakti Setia, Pingat Komisioner Jeneral Penjara and Pingat Jasa Penjara, in conjunction with the 231st Prisons Day celebration last year.
He said the awarding of the medals was in recognition of the contribution of uniformed staff who had served with excellence and the medals were also awarded to the public and external agencies who had contributed immensely to programmes and activities organised by the Malaysian Prisons Department.
Leading the list of recipients is Sarawak Deputy State Secretary (Transformation, Performance and Service Delivery) Datu Dr Sabariah Putit, who received the Johan Bakti Setia Medal (JBS).
According to Nordin, the JBS medal is the highest award in the hierarchy of the Malaysian Prisons Department to selected individuals for their dedication in the department’s rehabilitation system as well as raising the self-esteem of the inmates and elevating the department.
“Sabariah is the person behind the smart collaborations between Puncak Borneo Prison and the state government. One of the examples is the creation of the Songket Workshop at Puncak Borneo Prison by the Old Kuching Smart Heritage (OKSHE) and Sarawak Centre of Technical Excellence (Centexs),” he said.
The ceremony continued with the presentation of the Prisons Commissioner General Medal (First Class) followed by the Prisons Commissioner General Medal (Second Class) and the Prisons Service Medal to recipients.
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