PUTRAJAYA, Aug 28 — A former robbery convict is now a supervisor at a pineapple plantation after completing the government’s Community-based Rehabilitation Programme (CRP), Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.
The deputy prime minister cited the turnaround of V. Arun, who went from a former gang robber to a reformed worker in Negri Sembilan now, as evidence of the CRP’s efficacy.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minister, stressed the importance of Putrajaya’a prisons system and its goal of rehabilitating inmates.
“Prison is not just a place to punish but it is also a place for correction. We want those who around us, don’t look down on ex-convicts.
“They should be assimilated together so that they are an asset to the country,” he said during the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly here today.
A former IT engineer in Singapore, Arun fell into crime after returning to Malaysia. Among others, he partook in burglaries and robberies.
After his arrest in 2012, he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, which was reduced when he joined the CRP.
After undergoing his CRP in the Gemas Prison, Arun was then hired by Datuk Seri Tengku Hasmuddin Tengku Othman who gave him his current job supervising the 20-acre plantation.
Speaking at the same event, Arun urged the public not to stigmatise former convicts.
“Don’t ignore us ex-convicts. Please help us, please give us a chance,” he said. “I never knew I’ll be planting pineapples one day.”
Ahmad Zahid also urged the media not to only focus on the negative aspects of crime, saying uplifting news such as Arun’s also deserved coverage.
“If someone runs away from prison, that’s news. But, this doesn’t cut it. The negative is a story but the positives are not reported, like Arun’s story,” the home minister said.
