MALACCA: THE Home Ministry is considering gazetting the Banda Hilir Prison here, which has been turned into a Malaysia Prison Museum, as a heritage site.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the move would prevent the land from being acquired for new development projects.
He said the Prison Department and the ministry’s officials would discuss and collaborate in submitting an application to gazette the former prison, which is the country’s second oldest after the Penang Prison.
“The land where the former prison sits on has high commercial value as it is located in the heart of the city.
“However, once it is gazetted as a heritage site, developers will not be eyeing the land,” he said after the opening of the Malaysia Prison Museum here by Malacca governor Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob recently.
Also present were Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamad Khalid Shariff and Prison Department director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Omar.
Wan Junaidi also urged the Malacca government to preserve the museum site and prohibit its use in land swap deals for development.
He also suggested that travel agents list the Malaysia Prison Museum as one of the must-see attractions of Malacca.
The construction of the Banda Hilir Prison was completed in 1860. The building was initially known as HM Jail.
Its last inmates were moved to a new prison in Sungai Udang in June, 2010, six months after the Prison Department received approval from the Home Affairs Ministry to turn it into a museum with a budget of RM1.5 million.
On another matter, Wan Junaidi said the government might impose stricter penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants as their workers.
He said he would chair a meeting to discuss the issue next week.