Raya cookies, right from Alor Setar prison

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Female inmates making various types of  cookies to meet orders for the coming Hari Raya celebrations. — Bernama photo

Female inmates making various types of cookies to meet orders for the coming Hari Raya celebrations. — Bernama photo

ALOR SETAR: Each time the month of Ramadan comes along, Alor Setar Prison inmates get busy preparing cookies for Aidilfitri to meet orders from organisations and individuals.

A total of 34 female inmates at the prison, who have been given special raining to produce a variety of frozen products and pastries, will begin their daily routine as early as 8am.

The division of labour is set in advance, with inmates given special tasks to prepare raw materials, forming the cookies, baking them and finally packing them in jars before they are distributed.

The Alor Setar prison pastry workshop supervisor Sgt Azizah Jantan said they produced eight types of cookies, including pineapple tarts, cornflakes biscuits, watermelon biscuits, Almond Shortbread Bar, as well as seven types of dried cookies such as kuih siput, mini spicy spring rolls and kuih gunting.

“In one day, we can produce eight kinds of cookies, with each inmate able to produce 1,500 pieces of cookies a day, and overall we can produce more than 15,000 pieces per day.

“Each cookie jar, which contains 50 pieces, will be priced at RM19 (all types of cookies), while for dry cake the prices start from RM9 to RM13,” he said.

In addition, the workshop also receives orders for bread and cakes, as well as hampers which are sold for between RM50 and RM200, said Azizah.

The prison has targeted to collect RM200,000 from Raya cookie sales this year, and any party wishing to make reservations could come to the Alor Setar prison.

A check by Bernama found that the 34 inmates work on shifts, and many of them were nationals of Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand who have been detained under the Immigration Act. — Bernama