Nurul Izzah said the bill was intended to transform prisons into rehabilitation centres, replacing what she described as the current system of torture and suffering. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar proposes to bring a private member’s Bill at the next meeting of the Dewan Rakyat in an effort to reform the country’s prison system.

The PKR vice-president said the bill was intended to transform prisons into rehabilitation centres, replacing what she described as the current system of torture and suffering.

“Of course, there will be some arguments and preparations to bring the Bill. But I think the reformation of the prison system will really make a lot of sense. Our prison system is now completely modelled after the British system.

“In fact, in Islam, you are supposed to make people realise their mistakes and make them be someone better, not torture them,” she told reporters after launching the book Tian Chua’s Kajang Diary: A Prison Retreat at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here today.

Nurul Izzah said the reformation of the prison system was once mentioned by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when he was the deputy prime minister and home minister, but there was no political will to implement the idea.

‘Tian Chua’s Kajang Diary: A Prison Retreat was initially a diary of PKR vice-president Tian Chua while he was held at the Kajang Prison for one month last year.

“Initially, I was writing a diary when I was in prison. Life in prison gave me a lot of free time and kept me thinking, so I wrote down things. The book is not only about me but also about other inmates and the lives of prison officers,” he said.

The former Batu MP said the Chinese language version of the 152-page book was published last May and 1,500 copies were sold.

The book’s publisher, Mentor Publishing Sdn Bhd, will produce another 2,000 copies of the Chinese version, 5,000 copies of the Malay version and 2,000 copies of the English version as early as August.

The book, priced at RM40 for the English version and RM35 for the Chinese and Malay versions, will be available on online bookstores and major bookstore chains. — Bernama