MIC wants the government to close down the infamous Simpang Renggam detention camp in Johor, dubbed Malaysia's Guantanamo Bay, as it has outlived and probably deviated from its purpose of rehabilitating inmates.
Party president S Samy Vellu said MIC felt the detention camp built in 1986 to act as a rehabilitation centre, has become a "breeding ground" for more criminals, especially among the Indians, instead of rehabilitating them.
"Petty criminals who are sent there (the camp) graduate to become hardcore criminals," he told reporters after opening the MIC Youth workshop on crime prevention among Indian youth in Petaling Jaya.
To a question, Samy Vellu said he was aware that several non-governmental organisations also wanted the camp to be closed.
The camp houses detainees held under the Emergency Ordinance and the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985, as well as convicts and remand prisoners.
Relocate inmates to modern prisons
Former detainees, the Bar Council, and the parliamentary caucus on human rights have described poor conditions of detention, overcrowded cells, inedible food infested with worms, limited access to fresh air or exercise, and unhygienic living conditions.
Samy Vellu who visited the camp in 2007 as the then works minister, pointed out that the camp was also overcrowded and inmates were living in "filthy conditions".
It was reported that the camp could only accommodate 2,000 inmates but was now catering for more than 4,000 inmates.
Samy Vellu suggested that inmates who were serving their jail sentences, be relocated to modern prisons such as in Sungai Buloh, while inmates who were yet to be charged in court be brought before the courts to face punishments.
"For inmates who could not be charged in courts for various reasons, we feel they should be made to do community service and transferred to another rehabilitation camp with modern facilities," he said.
The former works minister said during his visit to the camp, he had personally talked to several inmates who complained that they were supposed to be detained for two years, but claimed that the authorities had extended their remand.
Samy Vellu said he was confident Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein would consider the MIC's request or find an alternative solution to it.
Party president S Samy Vellu said MIC felt the detention camp built in 1986 to act as a rehabilitation centre, has become a "breeding ground" for more criminals, especially among the Indians, instead of rehabilitating them.
"Petty criminals who are sent there (the camp) graduate to become hardcore criminals," he told reporters after opening the MIC Youth workshop on crime prevention among Indian youth in Petaling Jaya.To a question, Samy Vellu said he was aware that several non-governmental organisations also wanted the camp to be closed.
The camp houses detainees held under the Emergency Ordinance and the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985, as well as convicts and remand prisoners.
Relocate inmates to modern prisons
Former detainees, the Bar Council, and the parliamentary caucus on human rights have described poor conditions of detention, overcrowded cells, inedible food infested with worms, limited access to fresh air or exercise, and unhygienic living conditions.
Samy Vellu who visited the camp in 2007 as the then works minister, pointed out that the camp was also overcrowded and inmates were living in "filthy conditions".
It was reported that the camp could only accommodate 2,000 inmates but was now catering for more than 4,000 inmates.
Samy Vellu suggested that inmates who were serving their jail sentences, be relocated to modern prisons such as in Sungai Buloh, while inmates who were yet to be charged in court be brought before the courts to face punishments.
"For inmates who could not be charged in courts for various reasons, we feel they should be made to do community service and transferred to another rehabilitation camp with modern facilities," he said.The former works minister said during his visit to the camp, he had personally talked to several inmates who complained that they were supposed to be detained for two years, but claimed that the authorities had extended their remand.
Samy Vellu said he was confident Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein would consider the MIC's request or find an alternative solution to it.
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