TEMERLOH: The government can save about RM270 million in operation cost through three out-of-prison rehabilitation programmes involving convicts, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said.
The three programmes are the Persons on Parole, Licensed Prisoner Release (LPR) which was initiated in 2008 and the Compulsory Attendance Order (CAO) programme, involving about 80,000 prisoners throughout the country.
He said the savings through the parole and LPR programmes were about RM180 million while about RM90 million could be saved under the CAO programme.
"Apart from the savings for the Prisons Department, such programmes are good for convicts because they are exposed to various skills training that will come in handy when they are released after serving their prison terms. We want the community to accept them when they are released.
"They (convicts) will also have some savings that they can use after serving their prison terms," said Ismail after attending an outreach programme called "Deputy Minister with LPR/CAO, employers, families and community" in the Temerloh district today.
Ismail said ex-convicts who were exposed to skills training could be employed because about 150 companies were ready to accept skilled ex-convicts.
Among the employers are Felcra, Lembaga Kemajuan Pertubuhan Peladang and Panasonic.
Ismail said he hopes more employers will come forward to accept ex-convicts.
He also spoke about an ex-convict who became a successful entrepreneur earning about RM10,000 a month by farming ginger.
He added that the entrepreneur could become an icon for ex-convicts to emulate. – Bernama
