GEORGE TOWN: Two years ago, Hameediyah Restaurant director Muhammad Riyaaz Syed Ibrahim accepted his first parolee as a worker.
He has had no regrets.
Since then, he has had 50 of them in his restaurant, with six parolees under his employ currently.
Muhammad Riyaaz said they are diligent in their work.
“They were not problematic at all. I feel relieved to have become part of the parole programme of our prisons because they help with our manpower shortage,” he said.Banana leaf restaurant Ananda Bahwan’s owner Datuk V. Harikrishnan shares the same sentiment.
His restaurant has accepted about 100 parolees in the last few years.
Harikrishnan said he was very touched when five ex-parolees walked into his restaurant after having been released and asked if they could get permanent jobs there.
He hired them without a moment’s hesitation.
At present, he has 10 parolees working in his outlets in Penang, all getting the same salaries and benefits as others.
“The parolees come from various backgrounds and races.
“All are committed to their job and want to change their lives,” he said.
The experiment, started as an attempt to solve the serious manpower shortage just after the movement control order was lifted in 2021, has now became a form of personal fulfilment for these restaurant owners.
When interstate travel was allowed, many nasi kandar restaurants were forced to deal with a severe manpower shortage, to the point that some could not operate at all as their foreign workers had returned to their countries.
As such, the solution from the Prisons Department is welcomed.
Muhammad Riyaaz said seeing parolees hard at work at his restaurant has brought him joy.
“They take their jobs seriously. They really want to do well and to be given a second chance.
“I feel so proud to be able to give them that chance,” he said.
The parolees are paid a minimum salary of RM1,500 and work eight hours a day, like everyone else.
They are put up in a hostel just a few minutes’ walk from the restaurant.
Their salaries are deposited monthly into their accounts. Those who don’t have bank accounts are paid in cash.
Harikrishnan said he pays closer attention to the parolees, spending more time encouraging them.
On monitoring of the workers, he said their parole officer would call every day to check on them.
“Sometimes, the parole officers will do a spot check at our restaurants and arrive unannounced,” he said.
The parolees, aged between 20 and 55, also stay in hostels near the restaurants.
