Malayur News

In the final part of an interview with FMT, a former inmate reveals how detainees with deep pockets can purchase a little luxury behind bars.

PETALING JAYA: The mere mention of Simpang Rengam would make those who had the misfortune of spending time behind its walls squirm.

But a former inmate, Suresh (not his real name), told FMT that life in the prison was somewhat tolerable if a detainee had deep pockets.

“With the right amount of cash, you can get anything… RM50 for a box of cigarettes and RM100 for ganja through the wardens,” said the 31-year-old car repossessor.

He added that being a senior detainee also had its perks, especially when it came to family visits.
“Your seniority is determined by the colour of the collar on your shirt. If you are new, you will be given a shirt with white collar which entitles you to a visit once every 58 days.

“Then, we have the red collar which stands for visits every 56 days, green for every 48 days and blue for every two weeks,” said Suresh, who was arrested in connection with a murder case and spent five years detained under the Emergency Ordinance.

According to the lad from Puchong, inmates were forced to be creative in order to survive and keep their sanity intact.

“Sometimes, we buy instant noodles… to cook it, we use old tissue papers and bits of plastic to get a small fire going. We also make cakes with mashed bread to celebrate birthdays, and ‘ponggal soru’ (glutinous rice) for our makeshift temple’s festivals by mixing Milo powder with rice.”

The cat and the bird


Despite the hardship he endured, Suresh also recollected some light-hearted moments and encounters with the paranormal in prison.

“I had a pet cat and a mynah bird in prison. I named the cat Suraveli (tornado) and it had an attitude of its own. Whenever I called it, it will only respond with a snarl.

“As for the bird, it always stole food from the inmates, so we called him Mani first and later renamed him ‘Tiruttu Mani’ (Thief Mani). He never left our block, and at times, even joined us during the morning roll call.
“However, one day, a prison warden took the bird away and I was heart-broken.”

As for his close encounter with the paranormal, Suresh said there was a “toyol” that also dwelled in the prison, moving from one cell to another.

“The ‘toyol’ usually does not disturb anyone unless you address its existence. Once, I actually spoke about it and the creature did not allow me to sleep at night as it kept pulling my arms and legs.
“When in isolation, I also saw an apparition of a Malay girl washing clothes with a child standing next to her outside my cell,” he said.

In August 2005, when he was supposed to be released, Suresh’s detention was extended for another two years for unknown reasons.

“Six months prior to that, they held counselling sessions which I attended diligently. During the sessions, they motivated me not to indulge in criminal activities upon my release.

“But for some reason, they decided to extend my detention. When I argued that I did nothing wrong, the officers just ignored me,” he said, adding that he felt devastated.

However, before his second detention time expired, Ravi engaged a lawyer to file a habeas corpus application to have his detention declared unlawful.

Only in 2008 did he succeed, and the court ordered that he be released a week before his detention period was to expire.

“When the prison guard told me that I was free, I did not believe him. They had to drag me out of my cell. I was shivering, unable to contain my emotions.

“There is a tradition: if you’re being released, the other inmates will give you a farewell beating. But I took mine smiling, the thought of being free after five years… I did not feel any pain.”

‘Crime, it’s not worth it’


After inking his release papers, Suresh said that he received a salary of RM170 for the carpentry work he had done over the years.

“I was supposed to get more. You get paid 80 sen a day, but then 60% of that must be given to the warden. When I asked him why, the warden told me that it was to cover the prison guards’ wages.”

Suresh then took a bus from the Machap bus station and arrived at Bukit Jalil several hours later, where a friend fetched him and sent him home.

“When I reached home, even my aunty and grandmother could not recognise me. Guess I was in prison for too long,” he said, adding that he had also told his family not to visit him in prison since it was too expensive to travel.

Asked if the experience had changed him, Suresh smiled.

“Sometimes, when you are hard-pressed for cash, you do think about turning to crime. But let me tell you this, spending all those years behind bars is not worth it.

“I have lost so many years of my life. Now, I just want to focus on my future, and someday, even run my own business. I’ve paid my dues, it’s time to move on.”