Learning to be a better man in prison
Published on: Saturday, October 25, 2014
KOTA KINABALU: Serving time in prison is not the end but rather a new beginning.This is the philosophy held by a young inmate from Tawau who has to undergo 16 years in jail for committing armed robbery last year.The 21-year-old who wished to be known as Chang said he found the true meaning of life in the Kota Kinabalu Prison here the hard way.
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"Some inmates might perceive that there is no life in prison as we are living in a confined institution."But for me, it is a different thing…my life in prison now is the starting point of a real life where I learn a lot including about the importance of education to change a person's life."I learn to be a better man…where I learn to be very independent, responsible, accountable, and the importance of having a positive mindset to stay strong and achieve success in life," he said.Chang said this to reporters during the Kota Kinabalu Integrity School Students' Excellence Award and Motivation programme at the Kota Kinabalu Prison Complex in Kepayan.
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The annual event was organised by the Prisons Department to instill confidence, words of encouragement and to motivate nine inmates below 21 from the school here who will be sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) next month.Chang was adjudged the Best SPM Student at the school for his SPM trial results by securing 2As with several Bs and Cs in seven subjects which he will sitting for this year.
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Prior to his conviction, he said he took life for granted and did not appreciate how precious life is until he was ordered to serve time in the prison."Now I know that if I want to get the respect and trust of people, I must be successful in life and have a better future which I can achieve through education."Hence, through my long jail term of 16 years, I am determined not to waste the years doing nothing …I plan to continue studying and I will fill my time acquiring knowledge and even pursue tertiary education."I still believe that nothing is impossible and these high walls will not stop me from achieving success in life. I will prove to the society that a former inmate can also excel in life," said Chang who wants be an entrepreneur.On his target in SPM this year, Chang said he is optimistic of securing 4As from among seven subjects he is taking for the national exam this year as he has studied hard.According to him, his parents could not come to attend the event as they are living in Tawau and the trip would have been be costly for them. However, he said, he is looking forward to their visit by next month. Meanwhile, State Prisons Director Ab Basir Mohamad called on parents to continue motivating their children who are serving time in prison to do their best in the SPM this year."Parents should keep giving encouragement and words of motivation to their children to boost their self-confidence."I would advise the parents to come and visit them like a week before the exam starts. It would be a good pat on their shoulders and will increase their level of confidence when facing the national exam," he said.Basir said this at the start of the event that was also attended by six families and other officials.For the whole of Sabah, he said a total of 34 juveniles will be sitting for the exam next month."Only education can change people's lives including the inmates as the prison provides a second chance for them to acquire academic qualifications and use them to look for work after leaving prison."The department provides the Integrity Schools that are similar to the secondary school syllabus to inmates below 21 to enable them to sit for national exams," he said.In fact, Basir said four inmates from the prison here are currently taking up diploma programmes with Open University Malaysia (OUM) sponsored by Sabah Credit Corporation (SCC).Meanwhile, a 20-year-old man, who is serving four years' jail for rape, is re-sitting the SPM next month to obtain all As.The young inmate who wished to be known as Mon said he was not satisfied with the Bs he had scored for Bahasa Malaysia, English Language, Mathematics and History last year.The Kota Belud youngster scored three As for Science, Commerce and Morale Education in the same exam."Although many of my friends inprison and families congratulated me for the SPM results I received last year, I am still not pleased with such achievement… I am not fully satisfied."I am determined to get As and thus, I decided to re-take the SPM this year just for the four subjects. I know I can do this as I have studied hard and always refer to my teachers for assistance," he said.Mon was adjudged Best Student 2014 and SPM Best Student 2013 during the event.According to him, he was a dropout after he was charged with rape and attended trial."What had happened to me…is a blessing in disguise as the prison has offered me a second chance to do well in school."Studying here is like living in a boarding school where we have classes to attend and tuition classes in the afternoon as well as co-curriculum activities every Wednesday," said Mon who aspires to be a civil engineer.Meanwhile, his 57-year-old mother said she is proud of his SPM achievement and hard work to do well in his studies.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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