KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Permatang Pauh member of parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar suggested that the hygiene and health management in prisons nationwide to be standardised to ensure the welfare of inmates.

Nurul Izzah said the standardisation was necessary to ensure that inmates had access to health services and clean environment even though they were serving a sentence.

"I do not ask for something beyond expectation, just a standard practice that can be applied in all lockups or prisons to keep them clean. So, we (Malaysia) need to have our own ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) as well as emulating what is practiced in Norway," she said.

She said this after appearing as a guest on Bernama Radio talk show programme “Ala Carte Pagi” here today.

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Nurul Izzah said prisons should be a place which was clean and free of any infectious diseases. 

Nurul Izzah wanted any inmate diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) to be isolated to prevent the spread of the disease, and prison warden should also take steps to prevent the risk of being infected.

"A study conducted by Universiti Malaya found that 70 per cent of prisoners were infected with TB, because prisons have become incubators (breeding ground) for diseases,” she said.

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On mental and physical health, Nurul Izzah said every prisoner had the right to seek medical examination and treatment without any discrimination. — Bernama