Kamunting detention centre to become agro prison

The Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak will remain as a detention centre with an agro concept, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today.

He said the detention centre, which began operation on Nov 1, 1973 and built on 9.3 hectares of land, ended its function as a detention centre for Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees after the last six inmates were freed yesterday.

In line with the concept of self-suffiency introduced by the Prisons Department, he said the centre would be used to churn out food products such as vegetables and fish to be used by the inmates.

"The inmates here are made up of those selected from various prisons who are categorised as low risk and serving short sentences," he told reporters after receiving a courtesy call from newly-appointed Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohmad Khalid Sharif, here today.

Yesterday, the last six ISA detainees comprising three Malaysians, two Indonesians and a Filipino were released. They were detained in Sabah on Nov 14, 2011 for joining the Darul Islamiah (DI) Sabah militant group and were detained for two years.

Their release followed the abolishment of the act which was replaced by the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 on July 31, 2012.

Ahmad Zahid said the detention centre will house detainees under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act and Crime Prevention Act with cooperation from the Prisons Department.

"This is to ensure the Kamunting Detention Centre is not in a poor state. We will use the existing assets without building new ones," he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said the detention centre also provides skills training in the form of producing agricultural produce and farming which will bring in RM520,000.

He said produce such as spinach and water spinach (200kg a month) is supplied to prisons for daily rations while leafy vegetables, mushrooms and chives (150kg a month) are also supplied to traders and residents in Larut Matang and the Taiping Prison.

"A freshwater fish breeding centre also supplies up to four tonnes of fish each month such as catfish and tilapia to eight prisons including the Batu Gajah Prison, Tapah Prison, Alor Setar Prison, Penang Prison and Seberang Perai Prison," he said.

Besides breeding cattle, sheep and chicken, Ahmad Zahid said the centre also collects and processes kenaf leaves as a Government to Government project, with help from the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board.

Based on registration records, a total of 2,770 people were detained for various offences which could threaten national security including 1,702 communists, document falsification (433), terrorists (193), human trafficking (159), producing fake coins (66), religious and racial issues (40), subversive (38), intelligence (16), reformation activist (seven) and supply of nuclear component (one).