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PETALING JAYA: DAP Senator Liew Chin Tong has criticized Interior Minister Hamzah Zainudin and the federal government for the growing number of Covid-19 cases in prisons.
In a statement, Liew, the former deputy defense minister, said he had raised the issue of prison overcrowding since April.
“The government has had enough time to address this problem, but unfortunately the Home Affairs Minister and the federal government did not take any drastic action.”
Yesterday, Liew said Malaysia reported a record 1,228 cases of Covid-19, with 889 coming from Sabah alone. Of these, 502 cases were from Kepayan Prison in Kota Kinabalu.
He said 1,156 of the 2,160 inmates have so far tested positive for Covid-19, a ratio of one in two, while Sabah’s Minister of Housing and Local Government Masidi Manjun was reported to have said that Kepayan prison has 81% overcapacity.
“Former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Nur Jazlan Mohamed has accused Hamzah of being inefficient in his duties to the point where Covid-19 has hit prisoners across the country.”
In an interview with Sinar Harian yesterday, Nur Jazlan said that overcrowding in prisons and the mishandling of the situation by the ministry have led to Covid-19 easily spreading in detention centers and prisons.
The increase in cases in prisons and detention centers has raised concerns among NGOs, activists and even parliamentarians.
Liew said he agreed with Nur Jazlan’s view that Hamzah seemed to prefer playing politics rather than solving Covid-19 issues related to his Interior Ministry agencies.
“The government must pay more attention to the problem of overcrowded prisons to stop the spread of Covid-19.
“I wish to remind all parties that the prisoners are also human and that the prison guards are also being infected by Covid-19.”
He added that what is happening in prisons will have an impact on society, as the virus could spread from prisons if it is not contained.
Earlier, the Department of Prisons announced that it would grant inmates licensed release (ROL) in an effort to reduce prison overcrowding and prevent more Covid-19 infections.
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