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On 2 September 2010, two teams from the Embassy of Malaysia had visited two different prisons in Bangkok. The visits which were part of the monthly visit programme to the prisons by the Embassy coincided with the upcoming celebration of Eidul Fitri to mark the end of Ramadhan. Each team managed to meet about 20 Malaysian inmates and spent about two hours talking to them in an attempt to better understand their plight while serving their sentence in those prisons.

 

The first team which headed to Bang Kwang Prison was led by Ambassador Dato’ Husni Zai Yaacob. Also present were Brig Gen. Dato’ Azmy Yahya (Defence Attache), Nazarudin Ja’afar (First Secretary), Cpl. Azhar Hasmat (PDRM) and Thanawan, a local staff. Meanwhile, the second team which visited Klong Phrem Prison was led by Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman (Deputy Chief of Mission), Supt. Fauzi Khan (PDRM), Ahmad Sabri Tahir (Third Secretary) and Alee Adnandh, a local staff.

 

At Bang Kwang Prison, the communication with the inmates had to be done via telephone where both parties were separated by glass panel and iron bar. That notwithstanding, the delegation managed to interact with all of them and learned more about their difficulties and problems while serving their sentence. The scenario, however, was different at Klong Phrem Prison where the delegation was able to meet the inmates directly in a special room. There were several major issues discussed but the two most common issues raised by the inmates were the request for the Embassy to facilitate the application process for Royal Pardon as well as the long outstanding issue of prison exchange programme between Malaysia and Thailand. All of their concerns had been duly noted and the Embassy will undertake the necessary action to resolve them.

 

Other than meeting with the inmates, the delegation to Bang Kwang Prison had the opportunity to have a 30-minute discussion with the Commander of the Prison where various issues were discussed. Consistent with past practices, the delegations also brought along with them some goodies for the inmates as a reflection of our concern on their welfare. The inmates were indeed delightful to receive those goodies and expressed their hope that more visits could be undertaken by the Embassy in the future.

 

The visits were designed by the Embassy as part of its efforts to establish closer relations with fellow Malaysians abroad irrespective of their background. It was certainly in tandem with the aspiration of the Government to put the interest of the people as its top priority in line with the 1Malaysia concept.