Katherine (fourth right) and Roslisa (third left) with the winners of the beauty contest held at the at the Women Prison in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Prisons’ Board of Visiting Justices (BVJ) has called for the setting up of transit houses or “halfway homes” for released local inmates.
This is especially for those who have no homes and families to return to for a period of time to help them reintegrate into communities, society and families, said its chairperson, Datuk Katherine Lee.
She said BVJ asked the state government to assist in to start the pilot project as part of its service to Sabah.
“It would be very helpful if the state government and the business sector could allocate old abandoned/vacant building, place or land for the setting up of the transit houses,” she said at the Jalinan Kasih program at the Women Prison in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday where a Hari Raya, Pesta Kaamatan and Parent’s Day was held.
BVJ in collaboration with the Sabah State Prisons encourages the business sector to play an important role to help fulfill this crucial objective of overcoming overcrowding at prisons and achieving lesser crime in our society.
“With the assistance of the state government and business sector, BVJ will be able to work with the Council for Restorative Justices Sabah whose patron is the Yang DiPertua Negeri Sabah to set up such a home and to provide for the reintegration programs for these local released inmates to help them start a new clean life and get jobs for them.
“This will eventually provide good trained staff and labour force to Sabah, which is very much lacking now in many businesses and plantations,” said Katherine.
“One of the main causes of overcrowding in prisons is the overstayed inmates sentenced to life imprisonment which can be appealable or non-appealable. In such cases, the Sabah Pardons Board which seats twice a year, plays a crucial role towards their release. “Currently, there are inmates in prison for 25 to 39 years and it would be better for them to be released on good behavior and they are also already above 60 years of age, and are deemed humanely non-recidivists,” she said.
Currently, the Sabah prisons are overcrowded by more than 60 per cent of their capacity. The capacity for Kota Kinabalu prison is 1,500 inmates but today, there are about 3,000 inmates. The prisons in Tawau and Sandakan are also overcrowded.
Since 2020, the Prisons Department has started to release local prisoners who are of good behaviour with remaining three months sentence to serve to be released under Section 43 of the Prison Act 1965 (release on licence).
With the prison system in Malaysia more rehabilitative and less punitive, Katherine is happy that there is love and care shown to the inmates and their families through the Jalinan Kasih program.
“Punishment can turn an inmate into a worse person than he/she was before incarceration.
“Most of the inmates in prisons here are from less fortunate background and with no or less education, they just need some love and care from society to help to give them a hope and a future despite their predicaments.
“It is wonderful that this Jalinan Kasih program is held during festive seasons to bring the inmates and families together to foster familial ties multi-culturally and multi-religiously.
“It also reminds the inmates that there are people out there who still love and care for them even though they are incarcerated. It also means a lot to the inmates to have the opportunity to meet up and hug their families whom they have not seen for awhile, perhaps due to distance or cost for them to come down to see them from the interiors,” she said.
To qualify for the Jalinan Kasih program, inmates must have at least three years or less of their remaining sentence and their record must be clean without any disciplinary action within the last six months prior to the selection. They will go through an evaluation test which they must at least score 90 per cent marks, among other requirements.
The rehabilitative programs in the prison provide for inmates to continue with their studies while others are taught skills like cooking, pastry making, sewing, music and arts.
For the male prisoners they are taught carpentry, construction/brick laying/cement works, welding, which can help them to make a decent living when they are released after serving their sentences.
The products of their works are sold to the public.
The pastries are of good quality and made from healthy ingredients which are really good. The public can also bring their own fabrics and request the prisons to have their clothes made by the inmates.
Also present at the Jalinah Kasih program were Datuk Seri Panglima Raya Erom, Deputy Director (Management) of Women Prison Kota Kinabalu, Roslisa Binti Ishak, BVJ secretary Dr Christopher Chu Chi Ming and members Datuk Mariati Robert, Datuk Hj Abd Wahab Sulaiman, Dr Habibie Binti Hj Ibrahim and Muring Sigar.