GEORGE TOWN, The history of modern prisons and the first two prisoners in Malaysia are among the highlights at the booth of the Malaysian Prison Museum at the International Museum Day Festival 2024 (HMA 2024).
Prison Officer Sergeant Major Ahmad Fesal Noor said visitors could learn about the first prison built in the country at Fort Cornwallis here and the two inmates who were brought from Bengal, India, in 1790 by the British authorities.
He said, based on research, the first prison in the country was closely related to the establishment of a settlement on the island in 1786 by Sir Francis Light, however its existence was only detected in 1811 based on the remains of the prison within Fort Cornwallis.
‘In March 1790, the British authorities brought two men, Eyeno Deen Sheikdan (Ainuddin Sheidan) and Mohamed Heiant, from Bengal to Penang to be imprisoned there as political prisoners, making them the first two inmates in Malaysia, thus marking the existence of modern prisons in the country.
‘They were use
d as cheap labour to build infrastructure and economic activities. The second prison was built in Chowrasta Lines, but due to overcrowding of inmates, Penang Gold, a new prison was built and used in 1849, which still stands today (known as the Penang Remand Prison),’ he told Bernama at Dewan Sri Pinang, here.
Ahmad Fesal also said the history of the Pulau Jerejak Moral Rehabilitation Centre, which was once used to house leprosy patients, is also displayed.
He said visitors could also see various prison-related items on display, including the original cell door from the 1870s, prison cell keys from the 1960s, and the original stone of Fort Cornwallis.
Ahmad Fesal said the public could also see the condition inside a prison cell through a peephole in the cell door, adding that the layout of the booth is designed to depict the grim prison environment.
‘We want to educate and provide insights to the public about the challenging life in the narrow cells of prisons, where 23 hours are spent confined within the
cell and only one hour for release,’ he added.
Thirty-eight agencies, institutions, and museums participate in the festival, which runs from May 13 to 22 and is expected to draw 200,000 offline and online visitors.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency