YOURSAY | 'Perhaps Wan Ji's brief imprisonment is a blessing in disguise for other unfortunate prisoners.'

After claiming assault, Wan Ji being probed for defamation

AnthonyChan: Not surprising at all that the prison authorities are protecting their own by probing preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin for defamation after he claimed that he was beaten up by jail wardens.

We have seen so many cases in the past. The most glaring, of course, is the case of Teoh Beng Hock, and yet we haven’t seen anyone from the MACC charged for any wrongdoing despite his family seeking justice for 10 years.

The Way It Was: Case of the pot calling the kettle black. The Kajang Prison authorities ought to be ashamed of themselves. First, they allegedly beat up Wan Ji, and now to cover their wounded pride – if they have any – they filed a report against the preacher.

The prison has no legs to stand on. The prison staff were wrong in the first place and wrong again now. Why don’t they take action against those officers accused of abusing their powers by assaulting prisoners?

We all know the wardens at the prisons are all not saints, but at least have some humanity.

If beating prisoners is the order of the day, the government needs to sack the top management in the department, and replace them with well-trained and well-educated officers who can carry out their duties responsibly and fairly. 

It's obvious this lot here can’t do the job.

Steven Ong: Welcome to Malaysia, land of the sensitive. I would say the country is being ruined by the lack of love, and hence discrimination against others has become a right and privilege.

Wan Ji was even willing to forgive and close the matter if the alleged assaulter apologised to him, but now it seems sensitivity is a right and no one can question it.

A lack of education can lead to this weak belief that anyone who receives criticism must hit back by any means.

A very clear example is the court case involving 1MDB, where there is no shame in defending the alleged crime because the accused is their ‘boss’ and a ‘protector’ of the community and its beliefs.

Wan Ji speaks of beatings and friendly faces in prison

Chuen Tick: Wan Ji, thank you for highlighting the conditions in Kajang Prison, where you were detained. 

This is not the first time deplorable conditions and abuse have been reported, nor will it be the last.

The authorities will just shrug it off, wait for the news cycle to pass and then it'll be back to business as usual.

Fairplayer: Wan Ji, I salute you for exposing the prison wardens and for speaking up for the ill-treatment of prisoners. 

Perhaps your brief stay in prison is a blessing in disguise for the unfortunate prisoners. God bless you, Wan Ji!

Non Complaint Non Liar: I hope Wan Ji will take up the cause of prisoners since he saw their suffering firsthand.

It's one thing to be preaching in theory, but quite another to be preaching from personal life experience.

That prison warden with "the Kelantanese dialect" who Wan Ji claims assaulted him should be exposed and sacked without pension.

Anonymous_1e23ccf0: I remember being asked by my guide in Nepal to look for his brother-in-law who had been arrested for overstaying in Malaysia.

After much search, I located him in Kajang Prison, and this diminutive Nepali told me the same exact thing about one prison guard who took pleasure in beating him for no apparent reason.

While I was tempted to report it, I thought the better of it, knowing how the local authorities worked and told him to bear it since he had only 21 more days before his deportation.

Am I surprised by Wan Ji's beating at the hands of a prison guard? Not at all.

Anonymous 080: The lawyer P Uthayakumar also had the same complaint. It’s time for another royal commission of inquiry. Investigate the sordid state of prisons and the little Napoleons in the system.

Anonymous_1559652725189.76731559652061186: It is not just in prisons; Immigration detention centres or police lock-ups would have been the same. All detainees are being beaten up. Now you know why some die in custody.

There was talk about the government giving a huge budget for food, do you think plain food like what Wan Ji got meets the price offered? Somebody must have pocketed good money. Pity those suffering in silence.

Kit P: On paper, the budget given for food to feed the prisoners is certainly sufficient for a reasonable standard.

It appears there is either major price gouging or 'leakages', because the actual quality and quantity provided are atrocious. Where did the rest of the funds go to?

Truly Malaysian: Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, any comments? The Pakatan Harapan component parties have lost their gumption. One measure of how civilised a society is by how it treats its detained citizens.

Kangkung: PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, and PKR vice-president Tian Chua were some of the Pakatan Harapan leaders who spoke about “reforming prisons and police lock-ups” back in June 2018.

Nurul Izzah said she was “appalled at the punitive nature of the current prison system that focuses on punishment rather than rehabilitating offenders”.

Now, with all the scandals and fighting among them, “reforming prisons and police lock-ups” will be the last thing on their mind. When power gets to the head, it's intoxicating.

Speak for All: By right, Anwar should look into this matter seriously since he was once a prisoner too.

And just to remind those who say prisoners should avoid crime if they can’t take the punishment, every human should be treated as humans on this earth, because otherwise, we would be no better than animals.

They are already paying for their crimes.

Rembrandt: Nobody in government is voicing disgust with this horrible state of affairs in our prisons. Is this what we voted for?

We thought the Harapan government will have more compassion and humanity than the previous government.

It looks like business is as usual, whether it’s BN or Harapan. This is very sad.

Clever Voter: The practice of fear and intimidation is well-known. No politician has the courage to make any change.

Ironically, one or two even had the real taste of what life is like in prison, such as current Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Ideally, no one in a lock-up should be removed of his or her dignity.

Prisons are not even close to a one-star hotel. But, corrupt officials can be treated nicely to get a different treatment.

Wan Ji probably cannot forget his experience, but he is unlikely to get any sympathy. That's a pity.

Clear Thinking: Wan Ji has done a great public service by highlighting human rights violations in our prisons. 

This ought to be a powerful mitigating factor in deciding on any sentence given to him under this unjust Sedition Act 1948.

But "rice and fish which is around three fingers wide with kangkung" is better than what many can afford.

Muruga: Wan Ji, go slow with your complaints and wait till your case is withdrawn.

Otherwise, they will be waiting for your return and instead of three punches, they will all punch you.

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