I would like to refer to the recent Suhakam report on the state of Malaysian prisons. According to Suhakam commissioner Hamdan Adnan, Malaysia may soon see prison riots unless conditions are improved for both inmates and prison officers.

Kindly allow me to transport you back to the Han Dynasty (circa 200 BC). At that time there, the Western idea of languishing in unproductive and expensive prisons was unheard of except for accused persons awaiting trial.

The most common penalty was forced labour for up to five years. Women might have to mill or sift grain but men toiled at public works like fortifications or dykes on the Yellow River and even served as soldiers.

Together with slaves, these prisoners constituted a large part of the workforce available for big government projects and were hence, important to the Han economy.

Therefore, it is proposed to adopt the Han model of forced labour for Malaysian prisoners albeit with modifications for local needs. Prisoners pay for their upkeep and at the same time help the economy. That is not such a bad idea, after all.