Rehabilitation through Quran Learning Reduces Repeat Offences
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Home Minister, said this method of correction using the Quran in prisons throughout the country had proven to be successful, with only about 7.6% of released inmates returning to crime and being imprisoned again.
"This pro-active step by the Prisons Department is commendable because we must realize that inmates should not only be punished but Islamic values must be inculcated in them through the learning and reading of the Quran, as part of the rehabilitation process.
"At the same time, this method will also indirectly spread the teachings of Islam among the inmates and the prison institution in general," he said at the launch of the national-level Wakaf Al-Quran in Putra Jaya.
According to Ahmad Zahid, more than 70% of the 47,000 inmates in Malaysia were Muslims.
He said the move, carried out by Yayasan Restu with the cooperation of the Prisons Department, would provide the inmates and security forces throughout the country with Quran with Bahasa Malaysia and English translations.
Ahmad Zahid gave the example of Selangor former Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo serving a prison sentence at the Kajang Prison, and was now a teacher of the Quran to the inmates there.
"He has taught inmates who can now read the Quran, and hopefully, he will continue this when he is released in order to spread knowledge to others," he said.
The Waqaf Al-Quran programme launched in 2007 has so far printed and distributed 30,000 copies of the Quran to various countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Yemen and Palestine as well as to religious schools, mosques and several institutions in the country.
Source: Bernama
