115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS

CURRENT ISSUES IN CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT AND
EFFECTIVE COUNTERMEASURES
Zulkifli Bin Omar*
I. INTRODUCTION
It is the general consensus that thefundamental objective of corrections isrehabilitation, whether such institutions
are prisons, juvenile centers and othertypes of correctional institutions. Like
many other countries, Malaysia has beenstrongly influenced by the so-called
treatment and rehabilitation concepts, andstrongly believe in the possibility of being
able to treat and rehabilitate offenders.
The treatment process within the prisons
is clearly directed towards the preparation
for an eventual return to the community
as law abiding and socially productive
citizens. Their treatment should spell out
principles of legality and humanity, andthis conforms in almost every aspect to theUnited Nations Standard Minimum Rules(Treatment of Offenders) 1954 and thePrison Rules.
A reasonably high economic growthsustained by our country for the last
several years has furnished and coloured
the prisons population. Drastic social andeconomic changes has created a great
impact on the annual admission ofcorrectional institutions. The steady flowof foreign workers besides providing andfulfilling our manpower needs for thecountry’s growth and also contributed
significantly and has been a continued
upward pressure in the prison population.
This issue of over crowding has always
been the priority agenda in our prison
reformation. The sudden influx of HIV/AIDS infected prisoners have pressured the
management to accommodate some*

Senior Superintendent of Prison, Alor Setar Prison,
Malaysian Prison Department, Malaysiachanges in policies of prisoner daily
management.
Some major contemporary issues
resulting from these social, economic andenvironmental changes facing correctional
administrators include the changing trend
in prison population, overcrowding incorrectional facilities, improvement ofprison conditions, increase of drug-related
offenders, shortage of effective treatment
programmes and the small issues that caneasily be resolved by prison management.
II. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEENTHE CRIMINAL JUSTICEAGENCIES IN MALAYSIA
The administration of criminal justice in
Malaysia is enforced and administrated bythree different agencies, that is the Police(Investigation & Prosecution), theJudiciary (Criminal Justice Process) and
the Prisons (Correctional Center for
Offenders). These agencies are separated
in the sense of administration andjurisdiction, but they are related in theirfunctions. This relationship can be seen
whenever there are reported crimes; it
becomes the responsibility of the police.
When the police make an arrest, a decision
is made on whether or not to seek formal
charges against the arrest suspects. The
police may release a suspect withoutcharges if they consider their evidence
insufficient or admissible; or if the suspect
has established an alibi; if the suspectagreed to be an informant; if the victim or
key witnesses show reluctance to follow
through on prosecution; or for otherreasons. When the police do seek formal
charges, the prosecutor must decide333

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
whether to issue an information or seek abill of inducement from a grand jury. Whena case is prosecuted, the guilt or innocenceof the defendant must be determined. A
preliminary hearing of some sorts is
usually held first, where the probable cause
supporting the charges is reviewed anddefense motions concerning theadmissibility of the prosecution evidence
are considered.
When a person is sentenced, additional
decisions determine whether that sentence
will be served in prison or a rehabilitation
center. Decisions are also made about whatkinds of treatments the convicted person
should undergo. In the case of a person
sentenced to prison important initialdecision concerns the kind of institution towhich he will be sent. The principal
distinction is among minimum, medium
and maximum-security prisons. Generally,
the higher degree of security, the lesscomfortable the accommodation and themore limited the freedom enjoyed byinmates. The prison administration within
the framework of its penal legislation
classifies the prisoners and determines thetreatment programm for them. Therefore,
we can summarize that the enforcement
and the administration of the criminal
justice system in essence are to arrest,
sentence and rehabilitate the sameoffender. The objectives of the Criminal
Justice System in Malaysia in relation tolaw-breakers are that it removes dangerous
persons from the community, it prevents
others from criminal behavior, and it offers
the society an opportunity to attempt totransform law-breakers into law-abiding
citizens. As said earlier, these objectives
are achieved by a close working
relationship between the Police, theJudiciary, and the Prisons.

334

III. THE ROTATION OF THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS
PublicPrisonPoliceJudiciary
A. The Malaysian Judiciary
The Malaysian Constitution provides forthe exercise of power by the legislature, theexecutive and the judiciary. The judiciary
plays an important role in this balance ofpower. It has the power to hear anddetermine civil and criminal matters, andto pronounce on the Legislative andExecutive Act. To enable it to perform its
judicial functions, impartially, the judiciaryis relatively independent.
The judicial power of the country isvested in the Federal Court, the High
Courts and the Subordinate Courts. The
Head of Judiciary is the Lord President of
the Federal Court. He has directsupervision over all courts, which areheaded by an administrative head, that is
the Chief Registrar.
B. The Malaysian Police ForceThe Malaysian Police Force headed by
the Inspector General of Police is charged
with the responsibility of not only
preventing crimes but also performing avariety of general duties for the protectionof the general welfare of the people. They
are also responsible for investigating
crimes, detecting and identifying offenders
and prosecuting criminals in courts.
Besides all those, the police also have toperform other duties including patrolling
coastal water and rivers, jungle operation,
tracking down undesirable elements,
investigating the smuggling of drugs, arms
and other protected items through the

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
borders ensuring the safety of passengers
traveling in the nations railway and airline
system.

throughout the country and to ensure
consistency of administration in all the
penal establishments in all the states.

C. The Malaysian Prison Service on
the Treatment and Rehabilitationof Offenders and Juvenile
Delinquentsa. Background
In Malaysia before the Second World
War, the penal establishments in various
Malay States, Straits Settlement (Penang,
Singapore and Malacca) and Sabah andSarawak were directly under the
responsibility of the respective states andsettlements. Each of which had its own
prison regulations. The policy in all prisons
was basically punitive in nature, i.e.,making the life of the prisoner hard andunpleasant. It was hoped that suchconditions would operate as a deterrent tocrime.
In 1949, a centralizedadministration was set up and a
Commissioner of Prisons appointed toexercise control over the administration of
all prisons. From the year 1950 onwards,
in keeping with modern trends of penal
development the deterrent theory ofpunishments was replaced by thereformative theory and this had an
important impact on the department. In
1953, there was a repeal of the seven
separate and different prison enactment’s
which were replaced by prison ordinanceand prison rules, which were based on themodern concept of human treatment ofprisoners and juvenile delinquents. The
replacement by the new legislation does notcover the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
These two states still practiced their own
ordinance and rules until the year 1995,
when the Prison Ordinance 1952 was
replaced with the new legislation called thePrison Act 1995. This new piece oflegislation is a landmark in thedevelopment of the penal system in the
country. For the first time, it became
possible to apply uniform penal methods

The Prison Department is responsible
for the administration and management of
39 penal establishments in Malaysia
including the Prisons Rehabilitations’Centers, Drug Rehabilitation Centers andAdvanced Approved Schools for juvenile
delinquents. The Minister of Home Affairs
is the central and final authority for policy
making and administration relating to thetreatment of offenders in Malaysia.
INSTITUTION
Headquarters
Prisons
Rehabilitation Centers
Detention Centers
Advance Approved Schools
Prison Colleges
Total

TOTAL
3
25
3
1
5
2
39

The Director General of Prison is
responsible to the ministry for the
direction, supervision and overall control
of all penal establishments in Malaysia. At
the Prison Headquarters in Kajang,
Selangor, the Director General is assisted
by a Deputy Director General and various
head divisions at the regional level, eachpenal institution is headed by a Director
or Senior Superintendent of Prison
depending on the size and inmates
population of that particular prison. They
are responsible to the Director General of
Prison with regard to the administration,
security of institution as well as therehabilitation programmes of the inmates.
b. Roles and Functions of Malaysian
PrisonThe purpose and objectives of this paper
are to enlighten the role of Malaysian
Prison as a main correctional body in the
Criminal Justice System. Generally theobjective and functions of the Malaysian335

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
Prison Department are:i) To protect the public by segregating
the offenders from the community asordered by the courts.
ii) To effectuate judicial decisions byholding prisoners in custody until
their actual times of release.
iii) To provide a secure, orderly andhumane treatment environment foroffenders in department custody, andiv) To rehabilitate offenders so that they
may regain their self-respect and selfidentity and thus eventually returnto their community as law-abiding
and socially productive citizens.
In order to ensure these objectives andfunctions being successfully achieved,
various steps have been taken by theinstitution. In other word, this is where
the Prison Department plays their role.
The main principles in treatment of theprisoners are as follows:i) Discipline and order shall bemaintained with fairness but
firmness, and with no more
restriction than is required for safe
custody and to ensure a well ordered
community life.
ii) In the control of prisoners, prison
officers should seek to influencethem, through their own example andleadership so as to enlist their willing
co-operation; andiii) At all times the treatment ofconvicted prisoners shall be such as
to encourage their self-respect and asense of personal responsibility; so as
to rebuild their morale, to inculcate
in them habits of good citizenship andhard work, to encourage them to leadgood and useful life on discharge andto fit them to do so.
In Malaysia, particular attention is paid336

to the treatment of prisoners with theobjective that persons deprived of liberty
should be treated humanely, and enjoy
basic rights and as far as possible,
conditions of living in accordance with the
dignity of a free man outside the prison
wall. To prove this, upon admission toprison, a great deal of trouble is taken overeach individual prisoner whereby each ofthem is documented and a dossier is opened
for him.
Information about him, like social
background, antecedents, physicalappearance, offense, sentence, etc. isrecorded in the dossier, admission registry
and other books. After being medicallyexamined, the Reception Board headed by
the Officer-in-Charge or his Deputy
interviews the inmates, ascertains theirinterests, classifies them and assigns theman appropriate form of treatment which isdeemed best suited to them.
c. Vocational Training
Rule 74, Prison Rules 1953 stated that,“Every prisoner shall be required to engage
in useful work, all of which so far aspracticable, shall be spent in associated or
their work outside the cells, and no prisoner
shall be employed on any work unless hehas been certified as fit for that type of workby the medical officer.”In the Correctional System of Malaysia,
prison industry forms an integrated partof the programm of rehabilitation of
offenders as well as an important
instrument for providing employment for
inmates. The objectives of this trade are:i) To provide the offender vocational
training with a level of training andskills appropriate to his aptitude andcapacity that would enable him tocompete for related and satisfying
employment after release.
ii) To give the offender confidence,

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
satisfaction and self-respect so that
he may adjust easily to normal
society after release.
iii) To cultivate good working habits
among offenders.
Carpentry, tailoring, metal work,
laundry, handicraft, rattan-work, printing,engine-repairs are some trades taught inprison. Besides practicing this trade, in
1981, Malaysian Prison Department moved
to a new concept of vocational training
called “Joint-Venture Scheme.” Under thisscheme, the Prison Department supplies aselected number of inmates andworkmanship premises (within the prison)and the private companies involved provide
m a c h i n e r y, r a w m a t e r i a l s , t r a d e
instructors, expertise and are also
responsible for the marketing and sale ofthe products.
The participating firms are also required
to pay for the rental of the prison
workshops, water and electricity bills,
insurance coverage for inmates and regularsalaries to inmates who participate in thescheme.
The objectives of this new approach are:i) Reduce government expenditure andincrease revenue.
ii) Provide inmates the opportunity to
be trained in the use of modern

machinery and acquire the technicalknow-how.
iii) Reduce technical training instructors
and administrative work.
iv) Non-involvement in marketing.
v) Increase the earning of inmates.
vi) Provide more vocational training
facilities for the increasing prison
population.
Industries pursued under the JointVenture Scheme are wood-cane, furniture,and knitting of sweaters for export,
electronic gadgets, carpet inlays andothers. Since its introduction, the Joint
Venture approached has proved to be a
success and inmates have benefitedtremendously from it. For this reason, thePrison Department is planning to expand
this scheme to all prisons.
IV. TRENDS IN PRISONPOPULATION
A. Prison Capacity
There should be a balance between thenumber of prisoners and the facilities toaccommodate them. Any imbalance will
create severe impacts on the total
rehabilitation programm. Currently wehave 34 penal institutions with a
comfortable capacity of 23,884 prisoners.
However the prisoner population as per 2
March 2000 was 25,029 (9.54%) that is
above the comfortable capacity.

Total Number of Prisoners as per 2 March 2000
Institutions

Total No. of Prisoners

Comfortable Capacity

Prison22,176

20,755

Rehabilitation Center

1,884

2,030

Detention Center

29

369

Advance Approved School

940

730

Total

25,02923,884337

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
Excess number of prisoners certainly
creates some problems for theadministrator on the mundane tasks oftransportation, feeding and bedding. And
more importantly it undermines internalsocial control, creates high potential for
conflict and can negatively influence therelationships between staff and inmates.
The central problem in prison
management here is its lack of control overthe increasing number of inmates. Its
workload is entirely at the mercy ofmagistrates and judges who have no
structural involvement in the managementof the prison system and no responsibility
for allocating resources thereto.
B. Prisoners Awaiting-Trial
Remand Prisoners as per 2
March 2000
TypeHigh Court
Session Court
Lower Court
Foreigners
Others
Total

Total of
Remand Prisoners
392
873
5,161
924
4
7,353

Another factor adding to the prison
capacity is the high incidence of prisoners
awaiting-trial or remand prisoners inprison. As the above chart clearly shows,over 29.38% of all prisoners held on March
2, 2000 were awaiting trial. This is largely
due to a considerable proportion of mainly‘lower socio-economy’ class of accused being
unpresented in court or unable to meet bailor bail requirements. We strongly feel thatthe high percentage can be reduced in thefollowing ways.
a) The introduction of an easier andmore accessible legal aid system.

338

Apart from representing an accusedin court, this would entail a system
whereby lawyers are ‘on call’ so thatthey may consult with a defendantas soon as possible after arrest. It istimely to introduce a ‘duty solicitor’
whose service is paid by Judiciary
Department under their legal aid
scheme.
b) Shortening the period between
admission and judgement orsentence.
c) Introducing a holistic approach insentencing. The prison systemshould be seen as, and should operate
as an integral part of an
administration of justice. The courts
should be confronted with the realitythat their decisions have resources
consequences and impact on theprison regime. The court should be
informed that resources do not permit
more than a pre-determined numberof persons in prison - meaning thateither fewer offenders be incarcerated
or some be released. Allocation of
scarce resources (i.e. places in prison)
would be only for the most deservingcases.
C. Foreign Prisoners
Foreign Prisoners as per 2
March 2000
Institution

Total of
Remand Prisoners

PrisonRehabilitation Center
Detention Center
Advanced Approved Schools
Total

5,036
15
2
15
5,068

Besides the increasing number ofprisoners awaiting trial, the influx offoreign prisoners has also changed theprison population trend. Currently almost

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
20.29% (5,068 as per March 2, 2000) of theprisoners in all our penal institutions areforeigners. Although they do not create aphysical threat towards discipline or
security, however their sudden and everincreasing number will generate negative
responses in terms of prison regime. It hascaused ineffective communication between
staff and prisoners (language barrier) andalso a rise in various contagious diseases(i.e. conjunctivitis, scabies, and diarrhea).
Furthermore, exceeding capacity will
ultimately cause a serious degraded ability
to manage education and recreation spaces
which are turned into sleeping quarters,
leading to a lack of services and activities
which quickly translates into boredom,
restlessness and tension among prisoners
and between the prisoners and staff.
Prisoners gain more control as morale
among the staff is depreciated and there
begins ‘a vicious circle of diminishedcontrol’. This causes a substantial numberof prisoners to leave the prison more
embittered and hostile to society than when
they arrived. They leave prison therefore
in a state of mind where they are more
likely to reoffend.
The number of inmates held in a prison
should be determined NOT by the numberof beds that can be crammed in but by thefacilities available to contain people
decently and provide them with out of cell
activity.
D. Overcrowding
Prison overcrowding is a pressing
problem of the Criminal Justice
Administration. The Prison Departmentof Malaysia is perplexed to a certain degreeby the explosion of the population.
a. Causes of Overcrowdingi) The increasing number of social
problems faced by the country due tochanges in social economical andpolitical conditions. The abrupt
migration process and the flow offoreign nationals to meet the demandof manpower.
ii) E x c e s s i v e l y d e p e n d e n t o n
imprisonment. The criminal justicesystem imposes a great deal ofimportance to imprisonment as amajor means of deterring crime anddefending society. It is also seen as a
primary method of punishment.
Therefore more offenders are
imprisoned than is necessary due tothe lack of alternatives.
iii) An increase of drug-related offenses
and long-termers. The number ofdrugs-related offenses has doubled in
the last ten years. This category ofprisoner serves a longer term ofsentence. Furthermore, serious drugrelated cases (39B - Dangerous DrugAct 1985) spend an average of 2-3
years in Remand Centers before
actually being sentenced or acquitted.
iv) Prison facilities unable to keep pacewith the prison population influx.
b. Implication of Overcrowding in
Prisoni) Intolerable strain on staff, budgets
and the running of programmes. The
alarming ratio between staff andprisoners results in a high degree ofstress among officers. They areunable to carry out their duties
effectively and efficiently whichindirectly effects their morale. The
lack of space facilities, resources andtechnical equipment have hindered
the prison department to provide
prisoners with a full range oftraining, work and educational
opportunities when they have too
many prisoners to cater for properly.
ii) Prison overcrowding impedes ourdepartment to effectively implement
international standards in particular.
The United Nations Standard

339

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
Minimum Rules (Treatment of
Offenders). The poor living
conditions thereby causes tension
and stress for both inmates andofficers.
iii) Due to this acute problem we areunable to categorize prisoners
specifically to undergo a designed
programm. Prisoners from various
categories mix and this createsvarious stressful situations.
c. Present Strategy to Overcome
Overcrowding
The trickling down effects of thisovercrowding problem is perceived by ourdepartment very seriously. Short-term
solutions are as below:i) Mobilizing Prisoners
Prisoners from an over populated
institution are moved to anotherwhich are able to accommodate them.
Multiple variables are considered
prior to allocation of these prisoners.
The process of mobilizing prisoners
causes severe strains on escorting /security personnel and financial
control. Prisoners being placed
hundreds of miles away from theirhomes, with adverse effects upon
their ability to maintain contact with
their families and plan for their
future. Critics claim that thisstrategy hinders society for playing
a vital role in molding the deviant
behavior of the prisoners andpreparing them to become an integral
part of society. This strategy enables
every inmate to have a comfortableliving space and to ensure therehabilitation programm is run
effectively.
ii) Cell Expansion Programmes
Several out-dated buildings wereidentified and reconstructed toaccommodate the increase of340

prisoners. Besides living quarters,
expansion of other facilities was alsodone simultaneously.
iii) Building New Blocks in the Existing
PrisonNew additional accommodation has
been built in several prisons such as
in Penor Prison, Pengkalan Chepa
Prison and Kemunting Camp.
Building a new block with facilities
will help to overcome overcrowded
prisons.
iv) Co-operation with Other Agencies
Our department holds an average of
4,500 to 6,000 of foreign prisoners(18-25% of total population) at any
one time. Besides space andlanguage obstacles, a huge mount offinancial resources is spent annuallyfor their upkeep, about RM30.00 aday. Periodic meetings are held with
the immigration and members ofconsulate offices to expedite
repatriation and deportation.
d. Long-Term Strategy to Overcome
Overcrowdingi) Building New Prison
The most direct solution to prison
overcrowding is constructing moreprison facilities. For example: The
Pudu Prison which was built in theso-called suburbs in 1895 to cater for
600 prisoners, currently situatednear the K.L’s golden triangle.
Therefore it has been relocated at
Sungai Buluh with the capacity of
2,500 prisoners. In the seventh
Malaysia Plan our department has
proposed several new prisons to bebuilt and operationalized. Afterseveral rounds of negotiations anagreement was reached between thecentral government and thedepartment that some colonial andpre-war prisons shall be replaced

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
with high-tech and modern facilities
to meet the projected demand into thenext century.
Extremely high costs in building
these institutions has forced allconcerned parties to seek
alternatives. In principle theEconomies Planning Unit has agreed
and awarded several projects to
private companies. The involvementof the private sector has sparked new
ideas in design and construction withcost-efficiency in mind.

A proposal of a new prison has been
made to build an additional prison inseveral places such as in Pokok Sena,Central Prison of Kuching, Temerloh,
Perlis, Raub, Gombak, Kuala
Kangsar, Seberang Prai, Jeli and
Bintulu.
ii) Alternatives to Imprisonment
Courts usually impose custodial
sentences (i.e. imprisonment) when
it is thought to meet one or more of
the perceived aims of sentencing viz.,
retribution, deterrence, protection of
the public and rehabilitation. One
major factor which influences a court
to impose a prison sentence is the lackof suitable alternatives such as noncustodial sentences including fines,
whipping, binding certain offenders
over, discharges (absolute andconditional), probation, police
supervision and some fairly little
utilized provisions for compensation.
Research has shown that first-timeoffenders that are imprisoned foroffenses are more likely to laterembrace criminality than offenders
given alternative sanctions.
Therefore the Prison Department
with the assistance and blessing of

the Ministry of Home Affairs has
made recommendations to the
Judiciary for new avenues insentencing i.e. introduction of aparole system and community service
orders. It is timely that theCompulsory Attendance Act 1954 berevised and utilized extensively.
V. THE PROVISION OF FOOD AND
HEALTH SERVICES IN PRISONS
A number of issues relating to prison
health services have been discussed in theprevious conference and it is not proposed
the same discussion be repeated here.
Hence, the emphasis on this occasion will
be particularly on the following: 1. Food Services
2. Health Services
a. Provision of Food in Prisonsi) There is great dissatisfaction with thetimes for serving prison meals,
particularly when the evening mealis served very early to precede thenightly lock-up. The DirectorGeneral of Prisons, Malaysia hasrecently issued a Standing Order toall prison institutions to serve
evening meals to all categories ofprisoners after 6 p.m.
ii) To ensure that all prisoners receive
reasonable levels of nourishment
while they are in custody.
Prisons Rule 61 states, “The food of a
prisoner shall be in accordance withthe diet scales set out in the First
Schedule hereto, or such other dietscales as may from time to time beapproved by the Minister of Home
Affairs on the recommendation of the
Minister of Health.”
Prisons Rule 62 states, “Debtors,

341

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
prisoners awaiting trial, prisoners on
remand, and all others committed forsafe custody who do not elect toprovide their own food shall be
supplied with the same diet scales as
prisoners undergoing sentence.”
Prisons Rule 64 states, “No prisoner
shall receive or have in his possession
any food other than that authorisedby the diet scales, except; (a) with theauthority of the Officer-in-Charge in
special circumstances, or (b) with theauthority of the medical officer if avariation of diet is desirable on
medical grounds for an individual
prisoner.”
Prisons Rule 66 states, “Care shall betaken that all provisions supplied toprisoners be of proper quality andweight, and in all cases food shall begiven to prisoners before the day’s
work begins. Scales and standard
weights and measures shall be
provided for weighing the foodsupplied to them.”iii) To ensure that the health standardsof prisoners are maintained.
Prisons Rule 7 states, “In every
prison, an infirmary or proper place
for the reception of sick prisoners
shall be provided.”Prisons Rule 18 states, (1) “Every
prisoner shall as soon as possible
after this admission be separately
examined by the medical officer, whoshall enter on the prisoner’s record
particulars of the state of health ofthe prisoner; whether or not he has
been vaccinated, or had smallpox;
whether he has been on opium.”
Consumer, and to what degree; andany other information which it may

342

seem desirable to record; (2) “No
prisoner shall be put to labour until
the medical officer has certified that
he is fit for such labour, and the
medical officer shall certify whethera prisoner may be employed to do
hard labour or light labour”; (3)“Every prisoner shall be examined by
the medical officer before being
discharged or removed to anotherprison and no prisoner shall be
removed to another prison unless the
medical officer certifies that theprisoner is fit for removal.”; (4) “A
prisoner due for discharge who issuffering from any acute or
dangerous illness shall be transferred
to a government hospital.”
Prisons Rule 19 states, “A prisoner
may be vaccinated or re-vaccinatedat the direction of the medical officer.”
Prisons Rule 20 states, “If a prisoner
shall be found to be suffering fromany infectious or contagious disease,or to be in a verminous condition,
steps shall at once be taken to treat
the condition and to prevent it fromspreading to other prisoners.”
Prisons Rule 58 states, “Every
prisoner shall be supplied withbedding adequate for warmth andhealth in accordance with a scale
approved by the Director-General.
Additional bedding may be suppliedin special circumstances on therecommendation of the medical
officer.”
Prisons Rule 59 states, “The clothesof a prisoner shall be changed andwashed weekly, and bedclothes shallbe aired and washed as often as theofficer-in-charge may direct. The
prison clothing discarded by aprisoner on discharge shall be

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
thoroughly washed, dried anddisinfected before being returned tostore or re-issued.”
Prisons Rule 69 states,“Arrangements shall be made so far
as practicable for every prisoner,unless excused by the medical officer
on medical grounds, to take exercise
and physical recreation daily.”
Prisons Rule 75 states, “A prisoner
certified not to be fit for hard labourby the medical officer may be
employed in one or more of thefollowing forms of light labour: sewing, gardening, laundry work,cleaning and white-washing theprison, conservancy, and any such
similar services as the officer-incharge may from time to time direct.”
Prisons Rule 184 states, “A prisoner
on remand or awaiting trial shall, if
necessary for the purposes of his
defence, be allowed to see a registered
medical practitioner appointed byhimself or by his relatives or friends
or legal adviser on any week day at areasonable hour, in the sight, but notin the hearing, of the officer-in-charge
or an officer detailed by him.”
Prisons Rule 185 states, “When an
unconvicted prisoner wears his own
clothing in prison the medical officer,
may, for the purpose of preventing the
introduction or spread of infectious
disease, order that the clothing be
disinfected, and during the process of
disinfection the prisoner shall beallowed to wear prison clothing.”b. Dietary Restrictions
The United Nations’ Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners does
not prohibit the use of dietary punishments
but requires medical supervision. Manynations have prohibited the use of dietary
restrictions as a form of punishment andcontrol. However, the Prisons Departmentof Malaysia still mobilises “Half Rations” /“Bread and Water” as management
strategy for recalcitrant or troublesome
prisoners and prisoners who committed
serious offenses, such as assaulting staff
or repeated attempts to escape.
“Punishment by close confinement or
reduction diet shall never be inflicted
unless the medical officer has examined theprisoner and certified in writing that he is
fit to sustain it.” Rule 32 (1) U.N.S.M.R.
Prisons Rule 122 states, “An Officer-inCharge, if a Chief Officer or Principal
Officer Grade 1, may punish any prisoner,
found after due enquiry to be guilty of aminor offence, by ordering him to undergo‘confinement in a punishment cell for aperiod not exceeding three days on thepunishment diet prescribed in the First
Schedule hereto’.”Prisons Rule 124 states, “An officer-incharge, if of or above the rank ofsuperintendent, may punish a prisoner
found, after due enquiry, to be guilty of aminor offence, by ordering him to undergo‘confinement in a punishment cell for ateam not exceeding seven days on thepunishment diet prescribed in the First
Schedule hereto’.”Prisons Rule 125 states, “An officer-incharge, if of or above the rank ofsuperintendent may punish a prisoner
found, after due enquiry, to be guilty of an
aggravated prison offence by ordering him
to undergo (a) corporal punishment notexceeding twelve strokes with a rattan, (b)confinement in a punishment cell for a term
not exceeding seven days on thepunishment diet prescribed in the First
Schedule hereto.”

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
Prisons Rule 126 (3) states, “The Visiting
Justice shall, upon receipt of the report
where a prisoner is accused of an
aggravated prison offence, attend at theprison without undue delay and investigate
the charge, and may punish a prisoner
whom after due enquiry upon oath he orthey may find guilty of such offence with(a) confinement in a punishment cell for aterm not exceeding thirty days upon thepunishment diet prescribed in the First
Schedule hereto; (b) corporal punishment
not exceeding 24 strokes with a rattan.”
Prisons Rule 127 states, “Every prisoner
sentenced to dietary or corporalpunishment shall be sent to the medical
officer for examination, and a certificatethat its infliction is not likely to produce
any serious or permanent injury shall beobtained by the officer-in-charge before itis carried out.”
Prisons Rule 128 states, “A prisoner
undergoing punishment shall be suppliedwith such clothing and bedding as may becertified as essential by the medical officer.”
Prisons Rule 129 states, “Whenever a
prisoner is sentenced to undergo close
confinement in a punishment cell for aperiod exceeding three days on apunishment diet, he shall be given full dieton every fourth day.”Prisons Rule 130 states, “Confinementin the punishment cells shall not exceed
an aggregate of ninety days in a year for
any one prisoner, and the execution of any
two consecutive sentences shall beseparated by a period not shorter than thelonger of such sentence.”
Prisons Rule 131 states, “A prisoner
sentenced to confinement in thepunishment cells shall see no one otherthan prison officers in the execution of theirduty, a Minister of Religion and the Medical

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Officer, and shall have only such out-door
exercise as the latter certifies is absolutely
necessary for health. Every prisoner
confined in a punishment cell or subjected
to restricted diet shall be visited at least
once a day by the Officer-in-Charge and the
Medical Officer, and if he is confined in apunishment cell he shall be visited by theappointed prison officer at intervals of not
more than three hours during the day andnight.”
c. Provision of Food and Wateri) “Every prisoner shall be provided by
the administration at the usual
hours with food of nutritional value
adequate for health and strength, ofwholesome quality and well
prepared and served,” Rule 20 (1)U.N.S.M.R.
ii) “Drinking water shall be available
to every prisoner whenever he needs
it,” Rule 20 (2) U.N.S.M.R.
iii) Food services to meet the needs ofminority groups.
(a) Members of particular religious
groups in prison may have very
specific dietary requirements andprohibitions which they regard as
essential to their well being.
(b) Other minorities with particulardietary needs:- foreigners- women who are pregnant- prisoners who are unwell(c) Special needs or privileges forunconvicted or remand prisoners,
even though in some nations they
comprise the majority of all
prisoners. Historically, in somesystems, remands have been
allowed to have their meals sentin rather than being required to
eat the prison food.
(d) Provision of professional advice
and supervision by dietitians toensure that the nutritional value
and scheduled variety of prison

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
food is maintained.
(e) Privatization of all food services
to a prison or even prison system.
The cost-effectiveness of thisventure of entering into contracts
with private businessorganizations for the supply of all
food services.

Guidelines given by the Ministry of
Health regarding precautions andmanaging the spread of HIV will befollowed strictly. Prison staff that will be
involved in controlling HIV prisoners haveto attend seminars, courses, lectures which
gives them knowledge about HIV andAIDS.

VI. PROVISION OF HEALTHSERVICES

The Malaysian Prison Department has
to maintain the health of all prisoners andalso to prevent HIV from spreading within
the prison wall, so in order to make sure
this is done, screening by the team from
hospitals and prison counselor have to bedone with new prisoners. From theseresults, all the HIV positive inmates will
be placed in one building. Even though
they stay in HIV blocks they are still
involved in every activity that otherprisoners have, such as playing games,
working in workshops together and being
involved in other rehabilitation
programmes. To make sure that these HIV
prisoners get proper treatment, they will
be placed in certain prisons that haveenough medical facilities and every year
more allocations will be given to that prison
to buy more medicine and give better
treatment.

The objectives of health services are toprovide proper medical services toprisoners to provide first aid services to theneedy and to handle emergency cases thatneed immediate medical attention.
Doctors, medical assistants and nurses
are the employees directly employed ortransferred from other government
departments of the Malaysian prison
system. At present, the prison medical unit
consists of (1) medical officer, (19) medical
assistants and (1) staff nurse. They are all
full time employees of the Prisoner
Department operating 27 prison clinics
throughout the country. There are (17)institutions with sick-bags that can eachaccommodate (15) beds at any one time.
Prison clinics and sick-bags cater only forminor cases. All the serious and major
cases are referred immediately to theDistrict Hospital outside.
The challenge received by the healthservice in prison began when four prisoners
were identified as HIV carriers in 1989
through blood screening done by the
Ministry of Health group. The number of
HIV positive inmates kept on increasing
every year. Steps should be taken to
overcome this problem if not this situation
will effect the credibility of the prison
health service. To prevent HIV cases fromspreading in prisons the management takefurther steps and a have close rapport with
the Ministry of Health.

The Prison Department also has
counselors dealing with HIV/AIDS, as weknow that since 1991 it has spread widelyaround the world including Malaysia. At
present, we have quite a number ofprisoners involved in drugs. Among them,those who have been affected by HIV/AIDS
could have practiced risky behavior andlifestyles such as individuals with multiple
sexual partners, drug abusers who shareneedles, prostitution etc.
A. Objectives of HIV/AIDS
Counseling
HIV/AIDS counseling is done to achievevarious objectives. Among them are: -345

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
a. Prevention of infection throughpromotion of healthy life styles,
behavior, moral and spiritual values.
b. Prevention of transmission throughmodification of risky lifestyles andbehaviors.
c. Provision of psychosocial support tothose infected and / or affected by
HIV/AIDS to achieve optimum levelsof functioning and a satisfactory
quality of life.
d. To complement health education andcorrect misconceptios or myths about
HIV/AIDS.
For the prisoner that cannot accept that
he is HIV positive the prison counselor willplay their role until this prisoner can accept
the reality. To maintain the health of the
HIV prisoners the prison officer will makesure the medicine given to them will follow
the schedule and the follow up at hospitalwill be arranged depending on the due datein the treatment card.
When HIV prisoners are released, lettersto the nearest hospital will be sent and a
copy to the prisoners to ensure that further
treatment will be had by him. Prison
counselors also take this opportunity togive advice to them to follow the hospital
precautions to prevent the spread of HIV
outside.
The question on the provision of healthservices by a private organization needs
serious consideration at this moment due
to the difficulties in employing medical
professionals and the high cost
maintenance.
VII. INCREASE OF DRUG
RELATED OFFENDERS
The increase of drug-related offenders
was also an important issue that shall beconsidered by the prison management. The
increase of these prisoners will make us

346

think how to treat them within the prison
walls. It is not that easy to make themchange their lifestyle to be a normal person.
In the year 1981, the Malaysian Prison
Department first introduced arehabilitation programm where it started
with an integrated approach, which also
involves other rehabilitation agencies inand outside of prison. Counselors weretrained in skills and techniques ofcounseling. Now we have 150 posts for thecounseling officer and we have filled 125of them and when we compare the ratiowith the prisoners the difference is still
very high. The ratio that has beensuggested by the Public Service
Department is 1:30 but the ratio in the
Malaysia Prison Department is 1:90.
The duty of the counseling officer is notmeant to be for drug-related prisoners only
but they have to cover other types ofprisoners also. In short term strategy, ourdepartment tries to fill in the post that wehave and in long term strategy, the post
will be restructured and should have atleast 400 posts comprised of the ranks ofsuperintendent, deputy superintendentand assistant superintendent.
The integrated approach programm will
include
1. Vocational Training
2. Religious Education / Morale
3. Academic
4. Marching
5. Spots / Recreation
6. Activities in Libraries, Music, TV andetc.
On February 1992, the prison based
Therapeutic Community (TC) programm
was introduced where basic training intherapeutic community was given to thecounselors as well as the inmates.

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
A. Prison-Based TC Programmes
On 2 September 1992, one pilot projectof the TC rehabilitation programm was
implemented in the Drug Rehabilitation
Center, Kajang Prison. From that
programm we achieve success and this TC
programm has been introduced andexpanded to other prisons such as:
1. 1 December 1994 - H e n r y G u r n e ySchool, Telok Mas,
Melaka2. 27 July 1996
- Drug Rehabilitation
Institution, Jelebu,
Negeri, Sembilan
3. 1 August 1999
- Womens Prison,
Kajang4. 1 October 1999
- Marang Prison,
Terengganu
5. 7 July 1999
- Henry Gurney
School Kota
Kinabalu
6. 1 October 1999
- Seremban Prison,
Negeri Sembilan
7. 1 November 1999 - S i b u P r i s o n ,Sarawak
The expansion of this TC programm isstill going on and will be implemented toother prisons.
a. Objective of the TC Programmesi) To provide long term residential
treatment programmes for drug-freeand productive lifestyles and become
good Malaysian citizens.
ii) To utilize concepts / peer support andreview progress in conjunction withprofessionally structured therapy
programmes.
iii) To say no to drugs and abstain fromdrug abuse.
b. Strength of the TC Programmes
The Therapeutic Community (TC)
Program has its owned modality aim unlike
other drug rehabilitation programmess.
This concentrates on:i) M o r e t h a n 9 0 % o n p h y s i c a lrehabilitationii) Love and caring attitudesiii) Family oriented
B. Religious Activities
Religion is a main subject in a humanlife no matter what race he/she comes frombecause every religion carries goodteaching and good faith. It provides a guideto be an honest citizen, decent and honest
living. Malaysia is a multi-racial society
and prisoners of different races and religion
are committed to custody. Freedom of
religious worship is allowed for all
prisoners. Religious instructors andteachers from various faiths provide
religious guidance in all penal institutions.
By doing so, it is hoped that each prisoner
realizes his mistakes and sins of the pastand try to change into a good well-matured
human being. Religion alone can be astrong medicine for rehabilitating aprisoner, which carries a very strong
impact upon their release.
Besides visits from family members,
visits by religious groups and volunteer
agencies will help prisoners connect withsome religious beliefs and have a better
understanding of the outside world andperhaps their future. These visits will, in
one way or another, encourage prisoners
to have a better out-look on life. Thisreligious influence may entice this categoryof prisoners to spend some of their timepraying or reading religious scripts.
The rehabilitation programm that has
been introduced and exposed to theoffenders in prison as an institutional
treatment is hoping to be a starting point
for them to change their future
undertakings. Without public participation
the process of changes wills stop half way.
What we hope is that, the prisoners or
offenders that are ready to change or repent
will play their role after release. After

347

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
release, these offenders will go back tosociety and become part of society. With
the changes made by these ex-offenders
this will at least prevent them from being
involved in drugs outside and follow
religious activities.
C. Reformation Programmes Message from Prison
One of the new rehabilitation programs
that is useful for prisoners involved in drugor drug-related offences is the reformation
programmes - message from prison. This
program is a teamwork program between
the Prison Department of Malaysia and the
Education Department of Malaysia. This
program was launched on 1 April 1999 as
an alternative to fight against social illness
or problems among teenagers, mainly
students. With this cooperation, the Prison
Department has taken steps in choosing
inmates, trained them, made them
involved, exposed them to the communityand let them share their experience andbackground up until their involvement incriminal offences and the results of being
sentenced to prison. Their backgrounds,
the hardship faced by inmates andrepenting following the prison
rehabilitation program will be shared
among their inmates, students and also
parents.
From this program the inmate will feelthat they are also important and can give
their support to the government and realizethat the community can also appreciatethem. The program will also encouragethem to change their life and have a senseof personal responsibility. Also thisprogram will rebuild their morale andformulate habits of good citizenship andhard work, to lead a good and useful life.

348

VIII. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFEROF PRISONERSInternational cooperation is generally
defined as mutual assistance between
countries; where all parties gain mutual
benefits. Beneficial in terms of theexchange of information, ideas, materials
and resources. It is undeniable that withthe vast technological innovations in theworld today people are more mobile andtravel time is short. However such speed
and freedom cannot be applied to prisoners
serving in nations other then their
homeland as treaties for the transfer ofprisoners from one country to another have
yet to be established in most nations.
International transfer treaties are
beneficial if established as the positively
contribute to the rehabilitation process ofthe prisoner in terms of being in a suitableenvironment where family relations andfriends may provide moral support.
Familiar atmospheres additionallyassist in elevating mental stressexperienced by prisoners serving terms ina country foreign to them.
As of 2 March 2000 there were a total of
5,068 foreign prisoners in Malaysianprisons. The number accounts for 20.29%
of the total number of prisoners. Therefore
if transfers of prisoners are made possible,
the congestion of Malaysian prisons may
be alleviated by 22.95%. This will not only
lesson the congestion but also avoid
problems such as hunger strikes which areoften sparked by the wish to return to their
homeland, linguistic differences, remandcosts, etc.
However, although the internationaltransfer programs carry benefits
complications arise due to the differencesin form and length of sentences, prison
administration and legal system

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
incompatibilities.

to that of the male inmates.

The difference in sentences above
mentioned is primarily for countries whichcarry out corporal punishment, hanging
and death by firing squads whereas judicial
differences in terms of the penalty for drugtrafficking can sometimes be a mandatory
death sentence but in other countries
traffickers receive a lesser sentence.

In Malaysia, female inmates aresegregated from the male inmates. In
respect of accommodation, the Prison Rules
1953 provides for the following:

Administrative differences may involve
instances where a prisoner loses the benefitof pardons in countries which practiceparole or pardons due to nationalcelebration days.
In Malaysia, the international transfer
of prisoners is not a norm as there are as
yet no treaties with other countries andfurthermore, in Malaysia decisions for suchpolicies are addressed to and tabled by the
Ministry of Home Affairs. All applications
or requests for the transfer of prisoners
must be directly forwarded to the Ministryof Home Affairs. The Prison Department
supplies all relevant information
pertaining to the cases requested and act
upon receiving instructions from theministry.
IX. SPECIAL ISSUES RELATING TO
THE MANAGEMENT OF FEMALE
OFFENDERS
As of 2 March 2000 there were 1,365
female prisoners held in prisonsthroughout Malaysia. Of this number, 881
were at Kajang Female Prison (largest
female prison) while the rest were in thefemale sections of several regional prisonsthroughout the country.
Female inmates in prisons come fromdifferent races and backgrounds and thecrimes they are convicted of are also of
various types. For every crime committed,
the imprisonment sentence is no different“Male and female prisoners shall be
kept absolutely separate from eachother and shall be confined indifferent buildings. The wards, celland yards where women prisoners
are confined shall if possible, be
secured by locks different from thosesecuring the wards, cell and yards
allotted to male prisoners. Women
prisoners shall in all cases beattended by women prison officers. A
male prison officer shall not enter aprison or part of a prison appropriate
to women prisoners except on dutyor unless accompanied by a women
officer.”
Although the number of female inmatesis small, the rehabilitation programs thatare being run by the female prisons are
similar to those at the male prisons. The
programs are geared towards the
preparation of inmates for their eventual
return to the community as law-abiding
citizens and socially productive persons.
The rehabilitationencompasses the following:

programa) Vocational trainingb) Spiritual welfarec) Recreationd) Counselinga) Vocational Training
Convicted female inmates are provided
with opportunities to equip themselveswith a form of skill or trade. The following
trades are normally available:i) Tailoring

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57ii) Handicraftiii) Hairdressingiv) Laundryv) Domestic Sciencevi) Vegetable Gardeningb) Spiritual Welfare
It is recognised that religion can function
as an important agent in rehabilitation.
With this in view, religious teachers ofvarious faiths visit the prison to impartreligious instruction to the inmates.
c) Recreation
Recreational and extra mural activities
not only contribute towards physical andmental well being but also provide
constructive means of spending leisuretime and assist to relieve tensions,anxieties and monotony. In female prisons,several recreational facilities are madeavailable and singing and culturalactivities are also encouraged.
d) Counseling
In all female prisons, counseling isalways made available to them. They are
more susceptible to feelings of pressures,anxieties and worries - very often worries
about their parents, husbands and children
who are in the outside world. For thisreason, counseling occupies an important
place in the prison rehabilitation program.
Woman can become infected by HIV inexactly the same way as men. It is often
useful for an HIV positive individual toreceive specialised counseling and support
during their sentence. In this way theprisoner has the chance to learn about her
situation, ask questions and express
emotion and learn to cope more effectively
and responsibly with their condition.
Female inmates that conceived during
their imprisonment period will be given a
special diet based on the recommendationof the doctor. During their early stage of350

pregnancy, they will be frequently checkedby the doctor in the prison. However,during the latter stage they will be sent to
the hospital for weekly check ups. They
are always encouraged to give birth at thehospital in order to ensure the good healthof both the mother and the child. Under
the Prison Rules 1953, female inmates are
permitted to keep their children who areunder 3 years of age with them while they
are in prison.
The Prison Department of Malaysia
maintains good relations with the public.
Non-Government Organizations (NGO)have contributed much to the inmate
rehabilitation program. It is very
important that prisoners have some contact
with outside agencies before release, sothat problems such as accommodation,
counseling and job placement can beworked out in advance.
With respect to aftercare assistance andjob placement, organizations such as
Selangor Discharged Prisoners Aid Society(DPAS), Malaysian Care. PENGASIH,PINK Triangle and Narcotics Anonymous
have rendered meaningful assistance. All
the organizations can offer support andadvice to the prisoners. In this way the
problems of losing contact with theprisoners can be minimized.
X. CONCLUSION
In respect of implementing prison
sentences and the treatment of offenders,the Prison Department of Malaysia
subscribes to the concept of humantreatment that stresses a fair and firm
approach when dealing with prisoners. It
also conforms in almost nearly every aspectwith those of the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners.

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
There are so many issues which arise in
the Malaysia Prison Department but only
the big and vital issues as above have beenhighlighted and the countermeasurestaken by the management of the prisons.
In this era of rapid change anddevelopment, the Malaysia Prisons
Department realises the fact that it cannot
remain complacent with its present
achievements but continuously seeks to beon the move seeking new innovations suchas the progress of computerisation that willbring a greater efficiency in penal
administrations as well as keep it abreastof modern trends in penology.

351