KOTA BHARU: The Kelantan Prisons Department has embarked on a collaborative venture with the Malaysian Rubber Board to offer specialised training for prisoners to hone their skills as professional rubber tappers.
The training is provided to prisoners placed under the Licensed Prisoner Release Programme (PBSL) and those on parole, said department director Mat Yaacob.
He said 93 inmates from the Machang Moral Rehabilitation Centre were released under the PBSL yesterday to begin their new roles as rubber tappers in plantations in Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah and Gua Musang. This year, the department planned to train up to 750 professional rubber tappers.
The released prisoners would work as rubber tappers in idle plantations across Kelantan, he told reporters during the Kelantan Prisons Day celebration and handover of duties of the Pengkalan Chepa Prisons director, here.
At the event, Senior Assistant Commissioner Kamarulzaman Ismail was appointed director of the Pengkalan Chepa Prison to succeed Prisons Superintendent Mohamad Saizi Ibrahim.
Mat said the Corporate Smart Internship (CSI) programme of the department had 48 employers from various sectors, such as plantation, industry, manufacturing, retail and food.
He also said that 99.9 per cent of Kelantan’s released prisoners secured employment soon after their release, and that the recidivism rate was low, with only 0.24 per cent of released prisoners returning to prison. -Bernama
