Guilty. Another perpetrator is sentenced to time in prison. This marks the beginning of a life behind bars, adding to the rapidly growing prison population. Convicts are not the only ones occupying prisons. Pre-trial detainees are too. According to the World Prison Brief, the prison population in Malaysia as of August 25, 2021 is 69,507. Figure 1 demonstrates the comparison of Malaysia’s prison population with that of other developed nations. This exacerbates the issues of overcrowding and demonstrates the lack of access to proper healthcare. To put it plainly, basic necessities in Malaysian prisons are grossly inadequate.
Figure 1: Prison population rate per 100,000 adult citizens, selected countries, 2021 estimates
Source: World Prison Brief
Understanding and improving the Malaysian prison system has become a matter of great importance. Debates about the abolition of Malaysia’s death penalty were revived when Malaysian national, Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was sentenced to death by Singaporean authorities for drug trafficking. Such debates have extended across the country, with many increasingly concerned about the use of the death penalty. In order to pave the way for the abolishment of the death sentence in our own country, a prison sentence must be a viable alternative backed up by good living conditions. Such mandatory implementation would ensure effectiveness in both retribution and rehabilitation for convicts.
Overcrowding In Prisons
Overcrowding is one of the key contributing factors to poor prison conditions around the world. With the increasing number of people being convicted, it is not surprising that our national prisons are overstretched. As mentioned, the Malaysian prison population stands at 69,507 as of August 2021. Figure 2 demonstrates the increase in the total number of prisoners in Malaysia between the years 2016 and 2021. However, the dramatic increase in inmates has not been matched by an increase in prison capacity. Presently, the current estimated prison capacity is 61,242.
Figure 2: Total number of prisoners in Malaysia (2016-2021)
Source: World Prison Brief
With an overstretched prison occupancy level of 113.5%, the capability of Malaysian prisons to meet basic human needs such as healthcare, food, and sanitary living conditions diminishes rapidly. Personal experiences from former inmates have given insight into the state of prisons, describing them as unhygienic and cramped with minimal infrastructure for necessities like lighting or running water for lavatories. The Prison Department has even admitted to such conditions in media releases. Moreover, overcrowding reverses any effectiveness of rehabilitation, as it can lead to increased violence and worsen the already poor mental health of inmates.
However, this does not mean that all prison facilities are completely congested. Larger facilities such as the Sungai Buloh Prison can safely house tens of thousands of prisoners across a large series of facilities. But that does not change the fact that a huge majority of prisons are still overcrowded to this day.
Inadequate Access to Basic Healthcare
Overcrowding is also a significant contributor to the spread of diseases in prison. The close proximity renders physical distancing near impossible and makes the outbreak of diseases common. This proved to be the case even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Lethal diseases such as tuberculosis were rampant. One example is tuberculin skin tests conducted in 2011 on 441 prison personnel in Kajang prison. The results found that 81% of them tested positive for tuberculosis.
Personal anecdotes of former inmates have also shed light on the issue of inadequate basic healthcare. Former inmate P. Uthayakumar of Kajang Prison recalled an inmate with hepatitis C who was dismissed by prison wardens. That inmate was dead the next morning. Uthayakumar also stated that “KK” pills (plain paracetamol) were the medication prescribed for all illnesses and that doctors, too, contributed to the unsatisfactory healthcare given to prisoners. One way they did so was by not conducting proper healthcare examinations on prisoners. Uthayakumar recounted that doctors conducted these examinations on inmates without touching them, and at a distance of six feet away.
According to the 2018 Prison Department Statistics, the ratio of doctors to prisoners is 1:1000. This, coupled with the issue of overcrowding, makes it unsurprising that 2020 saw more than 51,000 COVID-19 cases in prisons across the country, with 103 COVID-related deaths from August 2020 to October 2021.
Access to Inadequate Mental Healthcare
While there is no official data on the mental health data of prisoners in Malaysia, there have been studies conducted proving the higher prevalence of mental illness among the prison population than in the general population in Malaysia. Figure 3 below illustrates this comparison.
Figure 3: Prevalence of mental illness in prisons vs. general population in Malaysia
Source: Relate Malaysia
It also does not help that some are imprisoned with unresolved trauma. Many prisoners come from unstable and troubled childhoods, often possessing symptoms of psychological distress. This, combined with difficulties adjusting to the institutional environment, often deteriorates their psychiatric symptoms. The lack of appropriate assistance to address these issues makes rehabilitation more difficult and increases the likelihood of recidivism.
Mental health services are not standardised. Some prisons (such as the Kajang Prison) receive monthly visits from psychiatrists, whereas others are required to bring prisoners to the nearest psychiatric clinic for assessments and follow-ups. More often than not, prisons do not have enough officers to escort prisoners for check-ups. Other problems such as the high consultation rates in prison, prisoners’ poor reliability in giving their history, lack of organisation, non-compliance with treatment planning, limited support systems and understaffing also prevent prisoners from getting the proper attention they need.
According to Section 36 of the Prison Act 1995, mentally disturbed prisoners are to be managed in a mental hospital or another facility deemed safe for such purposes. However, the process of transfer is not clear-cut and is only applied to sentenced prisoners. Mental health has a direct impact on incarceration or reoffending. By improving the mental health of prisoners, there will likely be a decrease in recidivism rates.
Aiding Prisoner Rehabilitation
To prevent former inmates from relapsing and returning to a life of crime, the Malaysian Prison Department conducts vocational training within the prison and on-the-job programmes. This prevents idleness and equips prisoners with skills that can later be used to find employment upon their release. It also demonstrates that they are capable of supporting themselves through honest means. Knitting, agriculture, furniture making, wood carving, pastry making, animal husbandry, frozen food business, batik design, and songket making are among the 30 disciplines offered by SLDN, Kajang Prison’s in-house vocational training programme. The items they have handcrafted are available under the MyPride brand in selected Mydin stores. Moreover, with the support of Tenun Diraja Pahang, inmates of the Penor and Bentong Prisons are able to learn the art of weaving through traditional methods. These inmates will be able to contribute to the survival of the ancient art of weaving through the programme. Workshops are conducted to help inmates sell their handicrafts or even have them displayed in an exhibition.
The Community Based Rehabilitation Programme has also given prisoners labour and maintenance work on government facilities and military bases. The government is looking towards expanding this programme as it has proved to be successful. Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, announced that a total of RM42.5 million was allocated to the Prisons Department between 2020 and 2021 to widen this programme. A supply of highly skilled workers would be an added benefit, reducing the country’s reliance on foreign workers. Currently, around 80% of inmates can now fill jobs that previously called for foreign labourers.
Attempts to Improve Prison Conditions
There have been many efforts to improve the issue of overcrowding. To reduce the number of people housed in prisons, the relocation of inmates to less crowded prisons, converting former national service camps into “satellite” prisons and settling up transit centres to house low-risk convicts and detainees are some of the steps that have been taken.
More than 55% of Malaysia’s inmates in 2018 were drug offenders. Consequently, in 2019, the Pakatan Harapan government proposed to decriminalise drug usage to allow drug addicts to be treated as medical patients rather than criminals. This was a welcomed initiative as it would improve the issue of overcrowding and reduce drug offenders’ interactions with “true criminals” such as murderers and arsonists. Unfortunately, this proposal was halted when the Perikatan Nasional government took over in early 2020.
Further action since then has been considered. In July 2020, the Prison Department declared its intention to reduce Malaysia’s prison population by two thirds by the year 2030. Prison Department director-general Datuk Sri Zulkifli Omar said: “In Malaysia, 70% of prison inmates are under the ‘low-risk’ category and only 30% are ‘high-risk’… the latter group will remain in prison,”. Those in the ‘low-risk’ category comprise minor offences such as theft, beatings, and low-level drug offences. The majority of those convicted of petty crimes will undergo rehabilitation within the community or other facilities outside prison. This will not only alleviate the burden on prison facilities, but it will also give these offenders a better chance of effective rehabilitation and smooth reintegration into society.
In addition to these measures, the government should consider increasing the number of doctors made available to inmates, at least on a per capita basis, to make them equivalent to the Malaysian public. This could be supplemented by giving prison healthcare professionals formal training in prison healthcare and medical ethics, similar to those found in Europe. Campaigns could also be organised to train inmates in preventative healthcare, which plays a significant role in their long-term health.
Conclusion
Ultimately, while there have been efforts to improve the lives of those in our prisons, they are insufficient. To prepare for the abolishment of the death penalty, there should be continued active efforts to implement measures to improve the Malaysian prison system—one that emphasises both retribution to punish prisoners for their wrongdoings and rehabilitation to prepare them for reintegration as peaceful, law-abiding citizens into our society. Prisoners in Malaysia deserve the protection of fundamental human rights as every human being. By resolving the issues of overcrowding and by providing adequate healthcare services to all prisoners, we can honour their rights and aid their rehabilitation.
SOURCES
“Covid-19: 103 Prisoners Died from August 2020 to October 2021.” The Star, http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/11/01/covid-19-103-prisoners-died-from-august-2020-to-october-2021. Accessed 16 May 2022.
Khamis, Johari. “Prison Mental Health Service in Malaysia: Where Do We Start?” Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 29, no. 2, 2020, pp. 1–13.
LAWS of MALAYSIA Act 537.
Lum, BY Dr Milton. “Incarcerated Health: Effective Healthcare Does Not Top the Priority List in Prisons.” The Star, http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/health/2014/07/20/effective-healthcare-does-not-top-the-priority-list-in-prisons/. Accessed 16 May 2022.
“Malaysia | World Prison Brief.” http://Www.prisonstudies.org, http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/malaysia.
“Malaysia to Decriminalise Drug Use, Says Health Minister.” Www.aljazeera.com, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/6/28/malaysia-to-decriminalise-drug-use-says-health-minister.
Malaysiakini, Team. “Uthaya Recounts Horrors of a Malaysian Prison.” Malaysiakini, 22 Oct. 2014, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/278276.. Accessed 16 May 2022.
“Mental Health in Prison.” RELATE, 25 Nov. 2016, relate.com.my/mental-health-in-prison/. Accessed 16 May 2022.
“More than 51,000 COVID-19 Cases in Malaysia’s Prisons; Overcrowding Is an Issue: Deputy Minister.” CNA, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-covid-19-cases-prisons-overcrowding-2207646.
“Prisons Nationwide Have an Excess of 20,000 Inmates, Dewan Rakyat Told :: FMT Beta2.” Beta2.Freemalaysiatoday.net, beta2.freemalaysiatoday.net/post/prisons-nationwide-have-an-excess-of-20000-inmates-dewan-rakyat-told. Accessed 16 May 2022.
Suhaidah, Sharan Raj & Dr Khor Swee Kheng, Zethy. “LETTER | How to Reduce Covid-19 in Malaysian Prisons.” Malaysiakini, 31 May 2021, http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/576855.
Nst.com.my. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/07/501080/rehabilitation-prisoners-chance-turn-over-new-leaf.
Wednesday, 22 J. 2020 05:17 P.M. (n.d.). Prisons Dept D-G: Malaysia’s parole system effective in reducing recidivism | Malay Mail. [online] http://www.malaymail.com. Available at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/07/22/prisons-dept-d-g-malaysias-parole-system-effective-in-reducing-recidivism/1887000.
Al-Darraji, Haider Abdulrazzaq Abed, et al. “Prevalence and Correlates of Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Employees of a High Security Prison in Malaysia.” Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 72, no. 6, 20 Mar. 2015, pp. 442–447, 10.1136/oemed-2014-102695. Accessed 23 Sept. 2021.“Tenun Pahang Diraja Dipamer Kepada Dunia.” BH Online, 2022, http://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2022/05/953589/tenun-pahang-diraja-dipamer-kepada-dunia.
Sonia Aashika Sanjay
Sonia Sanjay is a 16-year-old A-Levels student from Kuala Lumpur. She is an avid reader with a strong interest in history, economics, law, and current affairs and aims to contribute to this platform by sharing her thoughts on topics that affect us while also learning more.
Article edited by Andrea, Graphics by He Ren and Art by Tian Jing
Zenerations Malaysia 