Sabah DCM urges more companies to join prisoner rehabilitation prog

KOTA KINABALU, July 29 (Bernama) -- More companies have been urged to cooperate with the Prisons Department in the state to help in the rehabilitation of prisoners and ex-prisoners outside the prison walls, said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam.

Joachim, who is also state Industrial Development Minister, said currently there are 11 companies in Sabah working with Prisons Department through the Corporate Smart Internship (CSI) towards this end, while 20 small companies are providing employment opportunities to prisoners and ex-prisoners in the state.

"I see the collaboration between these two parties through deeper understanding will promote the effectiveness of the rehabilitation programme outside the prison walls, as well as reduce the rate of repeated crimes among the inmates.

"With job opportunities and higher incomes, prisoners have a more manageable and assured livelihood," he said when launching  the Commissioner-General of Prisons’ Outreach Programme together with CSI and employers in Sabah and Labuan here today.

Also present at the event were Second Deputy Home Minister Datuk Jonathan Yassin and Commissioner-General of Prisons Datuk Nordin Muhamad.

Joachim said one of the out-of-the-wall rehabilitation programmes that has given encouraging results is the Parole System Programme and Licenced Release of Prisoners Programme, where a total of 3,885 parolees (ODPs) have been released into the Sabah community since the system was implemented in 2008.

He said that since all the ODPs who join the system are Malaysian citizens, he will try to ensure that the companies give priority to them in terms of job opportunities, while also reducing the dependence on foreign workers.

Apart from this, he said, he will also try to open up job opportunities among ODPs and prisoners starting from agencies under his ministry.

"I will instruct my officers to follow up on this matter, therefore I request the Sabah Prisons Department to hold a meeting under my supervision with all private companies to get more information.

"The state government via my ministry is also always ready to help in terms of guidance for ex-convicts to start businesses as entrepreneurs in various industrial sectors," he also said.

Joachim added that if a prisoner is not given a job opportunity or does not get the chance to undergo parole and only spends his sentence behind prison walls, Malaysia will lose the prisoner's energy and time as they have the potential to jointly develop the country.

-- BERNAMA