# Malaysian Prison Department

The Malaysian Prison Department (Malay: Jabatan Penjara Malaysia; Jawi: جابتن ڤنجارا مليسيا‎; ), is a department under Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs responsible for prisons where offenders sentenced by the courts are held. These prisons also serve as detention and recovery institutions.
The department is headquartered in the Malaysia Prison Complex (Kompleks Penjara Kajang) in Kajang, Selangor.

## History

During British colonial rule and the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945, penal institutions were the responsibility of the individual states' governments with their respective regulations. In the Straits Settlements, a Superintendent based in Singapore served as the supervisor and inspected the institutions under his jurisdiction.
The Straits Settlements were the earliest to build their own prisons while the Federated Malay States did so only after the British set up a responsible department. Taiping Prison, the largest at the time, was built in 1879. Prisons were built with the main purpose of bringing suffering to the inmates in the hope that it would deter people from committing crimes.
In 1881, Sikh warders were brought in from India to assist Malay warders while vocational instructors from Hong Kong were brought in too an effort to introduce trades to the inmates. Among the earliest of these were rock breaking and carpentry. An attempt was made to categorise the inmates in 1882. Then, in 1889, European warders were appointed at some prisons.
With the formation of the Federated Malay States, Taiping Prison became a detention centre for long-term prisoners from Perak, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor. In 1923, a visiting justice system was introduced and prison industries expanded to include printing work, weaving, sewing, rattan weaving, and metalwork. Rock-breaking work was abolished in 1924 and replaced with the pounding of coconut husks.
During the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army also used the prisons for housing prisoners-of-war (POWs). All records of the prisons and the POWs for this period were subsequently destroyed by the Japanese by the end of the war.
After the war, the Prison Office was established to administer all prisons in Malaya. The post-war era saw the return of peace, and modern administrative methods were introduced. The 1948 Malayan Emergency resulted in an increase in inmate numbers, which in turn caused overcrowding in the prisons. This disrupted the development of the prison system and it was only towards the end of 1949 when peace returned that prison development could be carried out smoothly.
The Prisons Ordinance 1952 and the Prisons Regulations 1953, based on the "modern treatment" concept, were introduced to replace old legislation. In 1953, the Criminal Justice Bill was passed, abolishing the use of the cat o' nine tails for corporal punishment and replacing the term "penal servitude" with "prison".
Following Independence Day in 1957, the first Prisons Commissioner was appointed to take charge of the administration of all prisons in Malaya. In 1963, with the formation of Malaysia, prisons in Sabah and Sarawak came under the jurisdiction of the Prisons Department.
On 2 November 1995, the Prison Act 1995 was introduced to replace the former Prison Act which in turn was superseded on 1 September 2000 by the Prison Regulations 2000. The previous acts and regulations had been in use for a long time, thus changes and reforms were necessary to meet current needs and demands to streamline prison management and administration. The Malaysian Prison Department also carries out capital punishment in the form of long-drop hanging, and corporal punishment in the form of whipping with a rotan.
In an era of development and modernisation, the Malaysian Prison Department realises that it should not to be content with its past achievements, but should instead move forward and innovate in order to assist the prison administration in dealing with modern culture through criminology, penology and overall social control.

## Insignia

* The fourteen-point star represents the 13 States and the Federal Government of Malaysia, while the star and the crescent symbolise Islam, the official religion of Malaysia.
* The crossed keys symbolise the authority and responsibility delegated by the department in the performance of its duties.
* The paddy flower symbolises solidarity and close co-operation by multiracial staff at various levels in the hierarchy.
* The green background, the official colour of the Prisons Department, signifies allegiance to the Malaysian leader.

## Motto

Source:

### Cheerful, Sincere and Dedicated

    Shall faithfully carry out departmental duties to uphold the national criminal legal system and shoulder the task of rehabilitation of offenders entrusted upon the department by the nation with full responsibility and dedication.

### Green colour

    Symbolises the objective of the department to reform citizens who have lapsed into moral decay and turn them into productive individuals who are once again able to fit into society as useful citizens able to fulfill their social obligations.

### Sketch Heart and Hand

    Symbolises the commitment by society to re-accommodate ex-convicts into social institutions without any kind of prejudice which may jeopardise their rehabilitation programme.

### Silver background

Symbolises the sincerity of the departments management system in generating commitment and co-operation among society at large, offender families and the department to ensure the success of rehabilitation programmes.

## Prison department organisational structure
### Prison heads

| Appointment | Rank | Abbreviation | Name |
| Commissioner General of Prison | Commissioner General of Prison | KJP | Y'Bhg Dato Hj Nordin Bin Mohamad |
| Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | Deputy Commissioner General of Prison (1) | TKJP | Y'Bhg Dato' Haji Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Razak |
| Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | Deputy Commissioner General of Prison (2) | TKJP | Abdul Kadir Bin Hj Rais |
| Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | Deputy Commissioner General of Prison (3) | TKJP | Y'Bhg Dato Ibrisham Abd Rahman |
| Director of Perlis Prison | Senior Assistant Commissioner of Prison | PKK | Mat Johir bin Asin @ Hashim |
| Director of Kedah Prison | Senior Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | TKP | Sabri Yaakob |
| Director of Penang Prison | Senior Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | TKP | Roslan Mohamad |
| Director of Perak Prison | Senior Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | TKP | Tan Tian Heng |
| Director of Kelantan Prison | Senior Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | TKP | Hamzani bin Che Ibrahim |
| Director of Terengganu Prison | Senior Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | TKP | Ahmad Saidi Hamzah |
| Director of Pahang Prison | Commissioner of Prison | KP | Dato' Ab Basir bin Mohamad |
| Director of Kuala Lumpur Prison | Commissioner of Prison | KP | Y'Bhg Dato Sakeri Bin Dollah |
| Director of Selangor Prison | Commissioner of Prison | KP | Y'Bhg Dato Sakeri Bin Dollah |
| Director of Negeri Sembilan Prison | Senior Assistant Commissioner of Prison | PKK | PKK Abd Rahman bin Taib |
| Director of Malacca Prison | Commissioner of Prison | TKP | Ku Nawawi |
| Director of Johore Prison | Commissioner of Prison | KP | Abd. Wahab Kassim |
| Director of Sabah Prison | Commissioner of Prison | TKP | Hajah Nora Binti Musa |
| Director of Sarawak Prison | Senior Deputy Commissioner General of Prison | TKP | Rosidek Bin Musa |

## List of leaders
### Commissioners general

| # | Commissioner General | In office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1. | Captain Es Lilley | 1 April 1946 (1946-04-01) | 11 September 1949 (1949-09-11) | 3 years, 163 days |
| 2. | Captain Ov Garrat | 11 September 1949 (1949-09-11) | 1 October 1956 (1956-10-01) | 7 years, 20 days |
| 3. | Ft. Lt. WB Oliver | 1 October 1956 (1956-10-01) | 2 October 1957 (1957-10-02) | 1 year, 1 day |
| 4. | Tan Sri Murad Ahmad | 3 October 1957 (1957-10-03) | 24 July 1977 (1977-07-24) | 19 years, 294 days |
| 5. | Dato' Ibrahim Hj. Mohamed | 25 July 1977 (1977-07-25) | 30 April 1988 (1988-04-30) | 10 years, 280 days |
| 6. | Dato' Nik Ariffin Nik Omar | 1 May 1988 (1988-05-01) | 7 November 1989 (1989-11-07) | 1 year, 190 days |
| 7. | Dato' Mohd. Yassin Jaafar | 1 March 1990 (1990-03-01) | 7 February 1995 (1995-02-07) | 4 years, 343 days |
| 8. | Dato' Mohd Zaman Khan | 9 February 1995 (1995-02-09) | 31 December 1997 (1997-12-31) | 2 years, 325 days |
| 9. | Dato' Omar Mohamed Dan | 1 January 1998 (1998-01-01) | 16 October 2001 (2001-10-16) | 3 years, 288 days |
| 10. | Datuk Mustafa Osman | 17 October 2001 (2001-10-17) | 1 June 2009 (2009-06-01) | 7 years, 227 days |
| 11. | Dato' Sri Zulkifli Omar | 1 June 2009 (2009-06-01) | 1 January 2021 (2021-01-01) | 11 years, 214 days |
| 12. | Dato' Nordin Muhamad | 11 March 2021 (2021-03-11) | Incumbent | 3 years, 354 days |

### Deputy commissioners general

| Deputy Commissioner General | Year |
| Dato Ibrahim Mohamed | |
| Dato Nik Arifin Nik Omar | |
| Mohd Nadzry Kushairi | 1990–1993 |
| Datuk Omar Mohamad Dan | 1994–1997 |
| Datuk Mustafa Osman | 1998–2001 |
| Donald Wee May Keun | 2004–2005 |
| Samsuddin Tan Sri Murad | 2006 |
| Dato' Seri Zulkifli Omar | 2006–2008 |
| Dato' Wan Mohamad Nazarie Wan Mahmood | 2007–2012 |
| Datuk Hassan Sakimon | 2009–2017 |
| Dato' Wan Abdul Rahman Wan Abdullah | 2012–2017 |
| Dato' Alzafry Mohamad Alnassif Mohamad Adahan | 2017 – 2020 |
| Dato' Jamaluddin Saad | 2017 – 2020 |
| Dato' Haji Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Razak | 2017 – current |
| Abd Kadir Hj Rais | 2020-current |

## Institutions
### Headquarters

* Malaysian Prison Headquarters, Kajang
* Sarawak Prison Headquarters, Kuching
* Sabah Prison Headquarters, Kota Kinabalu

### Prison

Kedah
* Pokok Sena Prison
* Sungai Petani Prison
* Alor Star Prison
Penang
* Penang Prison
* Seberang Prai Prison
Perak
* Taiping Prison
* Tapah Prison
Selangor
* Sungai Buloh Prison
* Kajang Prison
* Kajang Women's Prison
Negeri Sembilan
* Jelebu Prison
* Seremban Prison
Melaka
* Ayer Keroh Prison
* Sg. Udang Prison
* Banda Hilir Prison
Johor
* Simpang Renggam Prison
* Kluang Prison
Pahang
* Bentong Prison
* Penor Prison
Terengganu
* Marang Prison
Kelantan
* Pengkalan Chepa Prison
Sarawak
* Puncak Borneo Prison
* Sibu Prison
* Miri Prison
* Bintulu Prison
* Sri Aman Prison
* Limbang Prison
Sabah
* Kota Kinabalu Prison
* Kota Kinabalu Women's Prison
* Tawau Prison
* Sandakan Prison

### Correctional Centre

* Perlis Correctional Centre
* Puncak Alam Correctional Centre
* Labuan Correctional Centre

### Juvenile School

* Henry Gurney School, Telok Mas, Malacca (boys & girls)
* Henry Gurney School, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (all-girls)
* Henry Gurney School, Keningau, Sabah (all-boys)
* Henry Gurney School, Puncak Borneo, Kuching, Sarawak (all-boys)
* Henry Gurney School, Batu Gajah, Perak

### Defunct Prison and Headquarters

* Malaysian Prison Headquarters, Taiping, Perak
* Pudu Prison, Kuala Lumpur (1895–1996)
* Johor Bahru Prison, Johor (1882–2005)
* Kuala Lipis Prison, Kuala Lipis, Pahang
* Kuantan Prison, Kuantan, Pahang
* Pulau Jerejak Prison, Penang
* Sim Sim Prison, Sandakan, Sabah (1850–1981)
* Banda Hilir Prison (1900-2009),now as Museum Prison

## Weaponry and equipment

Malaysian Prison Department operators are equipped with multi-specialized weaponry and marine assault vehicles, including:
| Model | Variants | Calibre | Origin | Notes |
| Pistols |||||||
| Glock | Glock 17 | 9x19mm Parabellum | Austria | In used by prison senior officers as well as Trup Tindakan Cepat (TTC) special team. |
| Smith & Wesson Model 15 | | .38 Special | USA | The S&W .38 service revolvers used by the low rank prisons peronnels. |
| Smith & Wesson M&P | M&P 9 | 9x19mm Parabellum | USA | In used as service pistols of Prison Department. |
| Shotguns |||||||
| Remington 870 | | 12 gauge | USA | Used as main service shotguns |
| Submachine Guns |||||||
| Heckler & Koch MP5 | MP5A3MP5A2 | 9x19mm Parabellum | Germany | Standard sub-machine gun used by TTC and Prisons personnels. |
| Assault Rifles |||||||
| Colt M16 | M16A1M16A4 | 5.56×45mm NATO | USA | In used by Prisons Department, TTC using the M16A4 with SOPMOD equipment. |
| Machine Guns |||||||
| FN MAG | | 7.62×51mm NATO | Belgium | |
| Sniper Rifles |||||||
| Accuracy International Arctic Warfare | Arctic Warfare Police | 7.62×51mm NATO | UK | Used by TTC snipers. |
| Grenade Launchers |||||||
| CS Mk.IV | | | Malaysia | Used by TTC. |
| Non-Lethals |||||||
| TASER X26 | X26P | Electrodes | USA | Use by all units of the Prisons personnels. |

## Famous inmates

* Botak Chin
* Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers
* Mona Fandey
* Najib Razak, former Prime Minister

## Malaysian Prison Department in popular culture
### Television

* Patahnya Sebelah Sayap (Break Half Wing) – Malay drama created by Ayie Mustafa
* Disebalik Tirai Besi (Behind The Bar) – Malay drama produced by MDAG Marketing Sdn Bhd