No plans to move Taiping prison to new complex, says govt

 Suhakam had previously recommended relocating the prison, which is currently housed in a 147-year-old heritage building, to a new facility.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the prisons department continuously assesses the need to develop, upgrade or replace prison facilities.

KUALA LUMPUR:

The government has yet to decide whether to relocate Taiping prison to a new complex after a riot last year left a prisoner dead, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) had asked whether the Taiping prison would be relocated to a new complex after the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) deemed the current facility unsuitable following a public inquiry into the Jan 17, 2025 riot that resulted in the death of inmate Gan Chin Eng, 61.

In response, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government has yet to make any decision to relocate or replace Taiping prison.

“However, the home ministry, through the prisons department, continuously assesses the need to develop, upgrade or replace prison facilities,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.

“This is based on various considerations, including safety aspects, operational requirements, the physical condition of buildings and financial implications for the government.”

It was previously reported that Suhakam had recommended that the prison complex, which was built in 1879 and gazetted as a heritage building, should cease operating as a detention facility. Suhakam suggested that it be converted into a museum or heritage site.

Suhakam chairman Hishamudin Yunus said the prison’s heritage status had resulted in bureaucratic challenges, high maintenance costs and structural limitations that had hampered sanitation upgrades, contributing to a severe deterioration of the facility.

The Suhakam panel that conducted the public inquiry into the riot found that the prison’s poor physical condition was among the factors that contributed to human rights violations and violence, which eventually led to the inmate’s death.

Saifuddin said his ministry had also taken note of Suhakam’s recommendations, adding that the prisons department will continue implementing appropriate measures to ensure safety, inmate welfare and the smooth operation of Taiping prison.

Fewer charged under Sedition Act

Separately, Saifuddin said fewer people had been charged under the Sedition Act over the past three years compared with the number of investigation papers opened into sedition cases.

He said 11 people were charged in 2023 although 127 investigation papers were opened that year, while 10 people were charged in 2024 from 96 investigation papers.

In 2025, six people were charged from the 142 investigation papers opened. Six people had been charged as of May this year from 55 investigation papers opened.

Saifuddin was responding to Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu), who asked for statistics on those investigated under the Sedition Act from 2023 to date, as well as the number of those charged. - FMT