TAPAH – A total of 65 inmates to be released from the Tapah Prison will get the opportunity to start afresh through the I-Kembali employment programme, an initiative by non-governmental organisation Pertubuhan Rakan Ghullam Kembali (Pergak).
Tapah prison director Kamarulzaman Mamat said the 65 inmates would join 25 released in August who took part in the programme.
He said that in August, the 25 inmates took part in the I-Kembali programme and managed to secure jobs in various fields, including in manufacturing and construction.
Kamarulzaman said the 65 inmates would be released on licences from offences including drug and criminal cases on November 26.
He said inmates eligible to participate in the programme included offenders sentenced to not more than one year imprisonment and who have served half their sentences, in addition to meeting the requirements of human development programme activities.
Kamarulzaman said he hoped more employers would come forward to offer jobs to ex-convicts as about 170 inmates in the Tapah Prison were eligible to participate in the I-Kembali programme.
Pergak chairman Datuk Seri Siti Murni Sheikh Ahmad said the participants would undergo a motivational session at the Ghullam Care and Rehabilitation Centre in Salak Tinggi, Selangor for 14 days before starting work and returning to society.
She said all 65 participants would work in a glove-making factory under strict monitoring by the prison authorities for a certain period.
"We hope society can accept these former prisoners and give them the opportunity to change," she said. – Bernama, November 19, 2020
