KOTA BARU, Sept 18 — A total of 20 out of 37 prisons in the country are overcrowded, said Home Ministry’s deputy secretary-general (security) Datuk Seri Nadzri Siron.

He said the most crowded was the Pengkalan Chepa Prison, with more than 2,900 inmates, when its capacity was only for 1,500 prisoners.

He told this to reporters after opening a programme "Message from Prisons” at Dewan Keusahawanan Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Kota campus here today.

Also present were Kelantan police chief Datuk Hasanuddin Hassan, Prisons Department director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Omar, Kelantan Prisons director Hamzani Che Berahim, Kelantan Crime Prevention Foundation chairman Datuk Abd Aziz Nawi and UMK deputy vice-chancellor Prof Dr Zaliman Sauli.

Nadzri said efforts were being made, including requesting for allocation, to improve the prison condition, as well as to build new building to overcome overcrowding in prisons.

"Newer prisons such as the Sungai Buloh Prison and Kajang Prison in Selangor as well as the Sungai Udang Prison in Melaka do not experience overcrowding as they were built based on the cell concept,” he said.

He also said that several programmes were being implemented to reduce overcrowding in prisons, such as the Community Rehabilitation Programme (CRP) at six army camps, including at Desa Pahlawan Camp here and Gemas Camp in Negri Sembilan for inmates to carry out activities outside of the prison. — Bernama