Malaysian Prison Department

Malaysian Prison Department
*Jabatan Penjara Malaysia*
جابتن ڤنجارا مليسيا‎
Malaysian Prison Department; Jabatan Penjara Malaysia; جابتن ڤنجارا مليسيا‎
	Logo of the Malaysian Prison Department
Motto	Mesra, Ikhlas dan Berbakti; (Friendly, Sincere and Dedicated)
Agency overview
Formed	19 March 1790; 234 years ago
Jurisdictional structure
National agency; (Operations jurisdiction)	Malaysia
Operations jurisdiction	Malaysia
Size	329,847 km (127,355 sq mi)
Population	27,544,000
Legal jurisdiction	National
Governing body	Government of Malaysia
Operational structure
Headquarters	Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
Elected officer responsible	Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Minister of Home Affairs;
Agency executives	KJP Dato' Nordin Muhamad, Commissioner General of Prison; TKJP Dato' Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Razak, Deputy Commissioner General of Prison (Security & Correctional); TKJP Abdul Kadir bin Rais, Deputy Commissioner General of Prison (Management); TKJP Dato' Ibrisam Bin Abdul Rahman, Deputy Commissioner General of Prison (Community);
Parent agency	Ministry of Home Affairs
Units	Trup Tindakan Cepat
Website
	www.prison.gov.my

The Malaysian Prison Department (Malay: Jabatan Penjara Malaysia; Jawi: جابتن ڤنجارا مليسيا‎; Chinese: 马来西亚监狱局), 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.^[1]^[2]

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^{[clarification needed]} 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.^[3]

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:^[4]

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, 301 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,^[5] 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,^[6] 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	MP5A3 MP5A2	9x19mm Parabellum	Germany	Standard sub-machine gun used by TTC and Prisons personnels.
Assault Rifles
Colt M16	M16A1 M16A4	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.

Major cases and incidents

1981 Botak Chin

1986 Pudu Prison siege

Famous inmates

Malaysian Prison Department in popular culture

Television

Patahnya Sebelah Sayap (Break Half Wing) – Malay drama created by Ayie Mustafa^[7]
Disebalik Tirai Besi (Behind The Bar) – Malay drama produced by MDAG Marketing Sdn Bhd^[8]