14-05-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Donate your books to spark positive change in prisoners' lives
Buku Beyond Bars was created after a conversation with former death row-inmate Razali Ahmad. (MCCHR pic)
PETALING JAYA : In prison, books are often treated as prized possessions, their stories offering a momentary escape to the outside world. Many texts also contain important skills that could help a prisoner improve his or her life upon returning to society.
Unfortunately, most prison libraries contain limited collections of books. Enter Buku Beyond Bars, a community initiative aimed at rectifying this issue.
Formed in August by the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR) and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan), Buku Beyond Bars aims to increase the amount of reading materials available in Malaysian prison libraries.
The organisations hope that more books will mean better rehabilitation, greater personal growth, and improved mental wellbeing for the local prison community.
'Books are a powerful tool for transformation; they are pathways to knowledge and change, and a meaningful way of reintegration into society,' MCCHR communications and outreach strategist Effa Qamariani told FMT Lifestyle.
Adpan project officer Janice Ananthan concurred, saying books are a powerful symbol of hope. 'To someone incarcerated, a donation of a book reminds them there are still people who care about them, that they are not forgotten.'
The team behind Buku Beyond Bars (from left): Janice Ananthan, Zhafir Amin, Mazni Ibrahim and Effa Qamariani. (Terence Toh @ FMT Lifestyle)
She said this initiative is also a way to address the stigma many Malaysians have for prisoners or those on death row, who still deserve access to good reading materials.
Buku Beyond Bars has thus far donated about 50 books to Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor. 'The timing of this campaign was good as the library had recently thrown out 90% of its books, which were battered or in poor quality. So this was a great opportunity to bring in new ones,' Effa explained.
According to her, Buku Beyond Bars was inspired after a conversation with Razali Ahmad, a former death-row inmate at Sungai Buloh prison.
Razali had shared how reading was a highly popular pastime among inmates, with horror, crime, thrillers and even romance being well-loved genres. Apparently, a copy of Ahadiat Akashah's popular love story 'Lagenda Budak Setan' was borrowed so often, it began to fall apart!
Buku Beyond Bars welcomes all kinds of book donations from the public, provided they are in good condition and do not contain explicit sexual or violent themes. The initiative conducts preliminary vetting of all donations, with prison authorities doing a second round.
A selection of Malay translations of literary classics that will be donated. (MCCHR pic)
Donations of novels are especially appreciated as they offer escapism for readers. Also in demand are educational books such as dictionaries, language guides, self-help and leadership books, and even guidebooks on miscellaneous topics such as chess or magic tricks.
Effa said MCCHR is also seeking more Malay books to balance out the large numbers of English titles they currently have. Malay books are more accessible to the public, she said, and are useful for foreign prisoners trying to learn the national language.
In the near future, Buku Beyond Bars hopes to expand its outreach to other institutions such as Kajang prison.
Additionally, Adpan is planning to launch a collection of poetry written by Pannir Selvam, the Malaysian on death row in Singapore. This project aims to highlight the power of second chances, and ties in with the spirit of the Buku Beyond Bars campaign.
'These poems were written when he was behind bars. It is a nice symbol of rehabilitation, as books were a big part of his journey. Each book will come with a bookmark containing a plantable seed,' Janice shared.
Perhaps your books will be part of the next batch that will be contributed to local prison libraries. (Terence Toh @ FMT Lifestyle)
Effa and Janice encourage the public to help as much as they can, noting that by donating a book, they are not just clearing a shelf but potentially opening the door to a better life for someone.
'Reading is a right, not a privilege. Even those incarcerated should be able to access current, informative books,' Effa noted.
'Many people have a book they randomly picked up one day that ended up changing their mindset or their life. Now is their time to provide that chance for someone else.'
For more information, follow MCCHR on Facebook.
