Overcrowded prisons ‘number one’ problem in fight against Covid-19 - Senator

The number one problem in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia is overcrowded prisons, said DAP senator Liew Chin Tong.

This came after the country recorded its highest daily cases yesterday at 1,228 cases, with 502 of them coming from the Kepayan prison cluster.

“Out of 2,160 from the prison who underwent Covid-19 testing, 1,156 individuals were confirmed positive.

“This ratio is more than one in every two people who were found positive for Covid-19.

“I would like to remind everyone that prisoners are also humans and prison staff are also getting infected with Covid-19.

“What is happening in the prison will affect the community outside. Covid-19 can spread to the community outside the prison complex if the spread inside the prison is not controlled,” Liew (photo, above) said in a statement today.

He pointed out that Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun had reportedly said the Kepayan prison was facing overcrowding issues as it was 81 percent over its capacity.

Liew said he and a few others had been bringing up the issue of overcrowded prisons since April and the government has had enough time to handle this issue since then.

However, there has been no “drastic action” taken by Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin or the federal government, he said.

Liew said he agreed with former deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed that Hamzah prefers to play politics instead of carrying out his responsibilities in solving the Covid-19 problems plaguing the agencies under his ministry’s jurisdiction.

“The government needs to pay serious attention to the issue of overcrowded prisons to solve the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Liew.