Prisoners will gain from working while serving sentence

V.K. Chin The Star Asia News Network Selangor, Malaysia

The employment of prisoners generated some interest in the West where some groups turned it into a controversy and opposed it for their own reasons.

However, Malaysians should not be too concerned with labour supplied by inmates and in fact should look at it in a positive manner.

The main objection is that the workers are being paid lower than ordinary workers.

The Western groups, which are mainly non-governmental organizations, have been using this issue to hit out at corporations for hiring prisoners, as if they are not human and do not deserve to earn a living like peace-loving people.

There are certainly merits in practicing this policy and it is indeed a far-sighted move in making the prisoners useful.

There is no reason why prisoners should idle their time away in prison and sit around doing nothing until the day of their release.

Such a practice will benefit both the employers and the prisoners concerned.

The prisoners should welcome this diversion as it will help to break the monotony of prison life.

Eventually, they will have to be released as it will be only a matter of time before they complete their sentence.

They will need to be rehabilitated especially those who had to serve a long prison sentence.

Instead of waiting for them to complete their sentences to start this process, surely it is better to do it while they are serving time.

Making them work during their imprisonment will save a lot of time in preparing them to return to society.

The main objection seems to be that they are being paid less than what ordinary workers get.

Prisoners are not going to be bothered by this fact as they will be happy just getting some work where they can earn some money and learn a skill that will come in handy when they leave prison.

In any case, they will have some money when they leave the prison and can at least look after themselves for a while as they look for work to start life anew.

Those with a criminal record will understand how difficult it is to find work upon their release as employers will be wary of recruiting them.

This will make it harder to adjust and without work they may return to their criminal ways.

So let us not quibble about this and behave like the ostensible do-gooders in the West who have their own ulterior motives and whose only interest is to damage the economies of developing nations.

To protect their own products, these Western groups will urge consumers to boycott goods produced by prisoners because cheap labour is used to make them.

They give the impression that it is a crime to produce goods cheaply due to lower costs and expect workers in the developing world to be paid First World salaries although their goods would not be competitive.

Malaysian unions should not fall into this trap and start condemning prison labour without considering the other benefits of such a scheme.

If possible the Government should encourage more prisoners in the country to participate in such useful programs.