Give ex-convicts a chance, Prisons Dept urges employers

KOTA KINABALU: The community should take a leap of faith and give opportunities to ex-convicts or those under parole to work and live amongst them, says the Prisons Department.

Its deputy director-general Datuk Ibrisam Abdul Rahman said for these people to recover from their mistakes and start over, jail time alone would not be enough.

"They have to be able to get out of prison and live normally once again and this is where the community can play a part to assist them," he said during a career carnival between people under bond or parole with employers at the Sabah Prisons Department here on Friday (Feb 10).

He said ex-convicts would not be able to change and move on if the community continues to stigmatise them.

Ibrisam said the Prisons Department has programmes to help them integrate with the community.

He said such programmes included parole and corporate smart internship (CSI) where individuals who pass a physical and mental assessment would get a chance to work outside the prison, with supervision.

He said such programmes were also to prepare future employers to have confidence in hiring ex-convicts or those under parole.

"If we save them by allowing them to slowly get back out there and earn a decent living, they too save us by first cutting down government costs to feed and house them in prisons and secondly by allowing them to contribute economically through work and spending," said Ibrisam, adding that this would also reduce prison congestion.

"We hope more companies would be willing to work with the Prisons Department in CSI programmes to create a more caring society," he said.

Earlier, several former inmates shared their experience how the parole and CSI programme had helped them.

There were also some employers who shared how taking a risk by hiring parolees and later rehiring them as staff members later helped both their companies and the person have a new take on life.