Show evidence if there is a VIP prison cell - Saifuddin Nasution

TANJUNG MALIM - The Home Affairs Ministry has denied the existence of a VIP prisoner's room at Sungai Buloh Prison, as claimed by an individual known as 'Abang Mat', recently.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said that the allegations uploaded on a social media site recently were seen as an attempt to damage the reputation of the Malaysian Prisons Department.

"In a year of my service in the ministry getting to know this institution and visiting most of the prisons across the country, I did not even find a VIP room for any of the inmates.

"I myself follow every journey of the administration and management of the prison system; I go in myself and see. If there are allegations that there is a VIP room, there is none," he said at a press conference after launching the Malaysian Prisons Department's District Parole Station (SPD) in collaboration with the Malaysian Volunteer Department (Rela) at the Home Affairs Ministry Mini Complex in Muallim District here on Thursday.

Saifuddin added that the individual involved was asked to stop spreading false information.

"Those who make the allegation need to come forward with evidence.

"If you write with the aim of damaging the department's reputation, we strongly reject such statements," he said.

Earlier, an 80-minute interview recording was uploaded on YouTube regarding the story of a former inmate at Sungai Buloh Prison known as Abang Mat.

He claimed that in the prison there is a special block for famous individuals, including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and most of them are inhabited by foreign prisoners.

The Malaysian Prisons Department, in a statement, confirmed that the statement made by 'Abang Mat' was untrue and malicious.

JPM will also not hesitate to make a police report because the allegations not only tarnished the image of the institution but also affected the Prime Minister's credibility.