They might be serving time in detention but they are not forgotten by the community in times of the major celebrations.
This time around, in conjunction with the up-coming Deepavali celebrations, the Malaysia Hindhudharma Maamandram brought along goodies for the inmates.
They have been carrying out this tradition for the past 21 years. Such is the commitment and dedication of this non-governmental organisation (NGO).
They were led by their chairman N Thanabalan accompanied by S. V Manimaran (Head of Religious Section) and S. Sugumaran (Secretary).
They brought along 1,400 packets of murukku, biscuits and other cookies to be distributed among the inmates.
On hand to receive the delegation was Superintendent Mohd Suhairi Awang who is the deputy director of the prison and his team.
“We are happy and grateful for this NGO for carrying out this programme today. It serves as an important gesture for the inmates for the upcoming celebration.
“It shows that the outside community does not forget those here. We hope that those who serve their term here will be changed to become good citizens. We also hope that they do not carry nay stigma so that assimilate into the community,”
“We also have other NGOs who come to present goodies for Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Christmas.
The Penang Prison has some 1,282 inmates currently at the prison. The inmates undergo various skills training so that they can take up a profession upon their release.
The Penang prison is among the oldest in the country which was built in 1849 during the colonial era.
Meanwhile, the Maandram also distributed around 2,000 Deepavali cookies for inmates at the Jawi detention centre on the mainland. They will carry out such presentation at the Penang General Hospital soon.