PUTRAJAYA: The government has saved RM1.33 billion in socio-economic savings and RM232.2 million in development cost savings through the Community Rehabilitation Programme (CRP).
Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Md Zin said 6,500 people under supervision have successfully completed rehabilitation as of July.
“Out of this, 85 per cent of them are now self-employed based on the skills gained at the centres while 15 percent of them have been employed in various sectors.
“Throughout the programme, the inmates were given skills training such as agriculture, aquaculture; chicken farming; basic mechanics and computer skills, among others. We also conduct social and spiritual enhancement programmes to make sure they are fully rehabilitated.
“Their family members are encouraged to visit as frequently as possible, not only during festive seasons."
Zulkifeli was speaking at the summit titled ‘Total Security System through Creative Collaboration’ in conjunction with the International Conference on Blue Ocean Strategy.
The programme, which is part of the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) initiative, eliminates the need to spend millions of ringgit in building additional prisons to address crime and overcrowded prisons.
Also present were Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and NBOS senior deputy director (national strategy unit) Datuk Dr William Stevenson.
CRP is a unique programme developed under NBOS aimed at reducing repeat offenders.
For this initiative, six centres were developed at a cost of between RM6 million to RM10 million.
The centres were constructed within six months and are able to accommodate 1,650 inmates.
The programme was implemented in March 2011 in military camps nationwide.