Post by CCADP on Aug 31, 2005 5:18:43 GMT -5
120-Year-old JB Prison Opens To Public
By Noor Hayati Muda
JOHOR BAHARU, Aug 31 (Bernama) -- Fancy inspecting a well said to be where the Japanese Imperial Army beheaded their enemies during the Second World War or want to experience the horror of being in a cell of a death-row prisoner which was originally the execution chamber.
Do come to the Johor Baharu Prison or what the locals here called "Air Molek Prison" located about five kilometres from the city centre.
The prison complex once known as "Johor Jail City" where Gen Soetikno Tjitrosoemarto, one of the Indonesian military commanders involved in the republic's "Crush Malaysia" campaign in 1965 was detained, will open its doors to the public tomorrow to discover the secret and history behind the concrete wall fencing after over 120 years being shut to the outside world.
It will be opened daily including on public holidays from tomorrow for two-and-a-half months from 9am to 5pm with an entrance fee of RM5 for adults, RM2 for children aged between seven and 17 and RM1 for uniformed students.
Built in 1882, it is among the oldest prisons in Malaysia.
A well, which was the main source of water for the prison complex, had been turned by the Japanese army into a place where they executed people opposed to their occupation of the Malay Peninsula in the 1940s.
"We don't know how far it is true but according to history, the prison was used by the Japanese army. The well is still there and we have put a grille over it," said Prison Director Abdul Basir Mohamad.
"Many of our staff avoid passing through the area, especially at night," he told Bernama.
"But that is not the reason why we open the prison to the public. Instead, we want to educate the people and make them aware how difficult it is living in a prison cell. Hopefully, they will learn and not do things that can take them here," he said.
He said the prison, which would be handed over to the Johor Government in December, was built during the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar Daeng Ibrahim costing RM30,000.
With an initial built-up space of 1,600 sq ft, it had the capacity of holding 200 prisoners and most of them were local fighters against the British rule.
Basir said the construction materials like bricks were imported from India while the iron bars and padlocks were made in England.
"Everything in the original block is still intact and the padlocks we still use to lock up the cells," he said.
Presently, the prison has five blocks and can accommodate 1,500 prisoners at any one time.
"If I'm not mistaken, in the 1960s, it also had women prisoners and carried out hanging until the 1950s," he said.
The hanging chamber has been renovated to keep death-row prisoners before they were sent to the Kajang Prison to be executed.
Basir said the prison complex had been vacated and the prisoners moved to the Kluang Prison.
He said 30 staff would remain to man the prison during the two-and-a-half month exhibition which include explaining its history and prison life.
Visitors will be allowed to walk into cells, take pictures, watch video presentations, witness caning demonstrations and may meet former prisoners.
"This may be the last time for them to be in a prison cell without actually occupying one," he added.
-- BERNAMA
By Noor Hayati Muda
JOHOR BAHARU, Aug 31 (Bernama) -- Fancy inspecting a well said to be where the Japanese Imperial Army beheaded their enemies during the Second World War or want to experience the horror of being in a cell of a death-row prisoner which was originally the execution chamber.
Do come to the Johor Baharu Prison or what the locals here called "Air Molek Prison" located about five kilometres from the city centre.
The prison complex once known as "Johor Jail City" where Gen Soetikno Tjitrosoemarto, one of the Indonesian military commanders involved in the republic's "Crush Malaysia" campaign in 1965 was detained, will open its doors to the public tomorrow to discover the secret and history behind the concrete wall fencing after over 120 years being shut to the outside world.
It will be opened daily including on public holidays from tomorrow for two-and-a-half months from 9am to 5pm with an entrance fee of RM5 for adults, RM2 for children aged between seven and 17 and RM1 for uniformed students.
Built in 1882, it is among the oldest prisons in Malaysia.
A well, which was the main source of water for the prison complex, had been turned by the Japanese army into a place where they executed people opposed to their occupation of the Malay Peninsula in the 1940s.
"We don't know how far it is true but according to history, the prison was used by the Japanese army. The well is still there and we have put a grille over it," said Prison Director Abdul Basir Mohamad.
"Many of our staff avoid passing through the area, especially at night," he told Bernama.
"But that is not the reason why we open the prison to the public. Instead, we want to educate the people and make them aware how difficult it is living in a prison cell. Hopefully, they will learn and not do things that can take them here," he said.
He said the prison, which would be handed over to the Johor Government in December, was built during the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar Daeng Ibrahim costing RM30,000.
With an initial built-up space of 1,600 sq ft, it had the capacity of holding 200 prisoners and most of them were local fighters against the British rule.
Basir said the construction materials like bricks were imported from India while the iron bars and padlocks were made in England.
"Everything in the original block is still intact and the padlocks we still use to lock up the cells," he said.
Presently, the prison has five blocks and can accommodate 1,500 prisoners at any one time.
"If I'm not mistaken, in the 1960s, it also had women prisoners and carried out hanging until the 1950s," he said.
The hanging chamber has been renovated to keep death-row prisoners before they were sent to the Kajang Prison to be executed.
Basir said the prison complex had been vacated and the prisoners moved to the Kluang Prison.
He said 30 staff would remain to man the prison during the two-and-a-half month exhibition which include explaining its history and prison life.
Visitors will be allowed to walk into cells, take pictures, watch video presentations, witness caning demonstrations and may meet former prisoners.
"This may be the last time for them to be in a prison cell without actually occupying one," he added.
-- BERNAMA