Prison Dept to upgrade staff quarters

The Prison Department will be upgrading its staff quarters to boost their quality of service and efficiency.

Its director-general, Zulkifli Omar, said the move was necessary since there were still wooden prison quarters, which were too small for occupation and had limited rooms.

"Two quarters are expected to be upgraded next year, namely, the Seremban Prison and the Correctional Academy of Malaysia in Langkawi," he told reporters today after opening the Alor Star Prison staff quarters.

Most quarters prior to this were made of wood and will be upgraded in stages. 

Zulkifli said: "The upgrades will create a comfortable home environment so that they can serve the department better.’’

The Alor Star quarters were built at a cost of RM6.14 million and comprises 24 units of accommodations.

Each unit has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Other facilities include 35 parking bays and a 31-motorcycle parking amenity, meeting room, recreation room, kindergarten, co-operative and surau.

Zulkifli said the upgrading of the Kajang Prison quarters had also been completed recently. 

Meanwhile, Zulkilfi said over 2,000 ex-convicts had become employed through the Yellow Ribbon Project, an initiative by the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Prison Department in October last year.

He said most of the former convicts ventured into the construction, plantation and manufacturing sectors.

"We will expand the project and provide more opportunities, especially to young former convicts." — Bernama