The Malaysian Insight

Prisons and lockups are due for an institutional reform in the next few parliamentary sessions, said Nurul Izzah Anwar.

The Permatang Pauh MP said that there were originally reforms cued during former prime minister Najib Razak’s administration but there was no political to carry it out.

“Prison reforms was mentioned by (former home minister) Zahid Hamidi, but there was no political will to implement it,” she said today.

“They (Najib Razak’s administration) had a document (for prison reforms), and it was supposed to be presented in Parliament in a meeting.”

She said the current Prison Act 1995 was archaic and needs to be updated to the current needs of Malaysians.

“We need to bring our system which is archaic and completely under the British term, up to current needs and requirements,” she said.

Nurul Izzah is confident that she will have the support from the civil servants.

“For me it really makes a lot of sense. I’m sure the civil servants themselves will support me,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, said that it must also include the reform of the standard operating procedures and training the policemen in handling detainees. 

“A lot of abuses takes place in police lock up, more than in prisons. 

“The hygiene levels in the police locks needs to be improved too,” he said, adding that in some cases the hygiene of detainees are neglected.

Tian Chua was previously incarcerated last September at Kajang prison for a month for trespassing on police property.

The Human Rights Commission reports 231 custodial death cases recorded between the year 2000 and May 2013, with only two cases caused by the police.

According to the latest statistics from the police, a total of 233 detainees died in custody from 2000 until August 2013.

There have been 19 deaths reported in 2013 alone and four deaths in the first two months of 2014. – June 14, 2018.