MADANI Wellness Sports Carnival A Platform To Strengthen Discipline Among Prison Inmates - Abdul Aziz

BENTONG, July 4 (Bernama) -- The MADANI Wellness Sports Carnival 2025, held by the Malaysian Prisons Department, serves as a platform to strengthen discipline and identity among inmates.

Prisons Commissioner-General Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Razak said the event has the potential to instil unity, rehabilitation, and personal development that can transform individuals for the better.

“Sports is not just competitions, it is a form of self-training to manage emotions, accept defeat, celebrate victory, and most importantly, build resilience to face life’s challenges.

“This carnival is not merely a stage to showcase sporting talent, but it also supports the Prisons Department’s vision of improving the quality of life for inmates through a rehabilitation approach based on holistic and progressive sports therapy,” he said in his speech at the MADANI Wellness Sports Carnival 2025 closing ceremony here today.

The sports carnival brought together 261 inmates from 26 prisons nationwide to participate in sports activities that promote unity, rehabilitation, and personal growth.

The sports carnival, organised by the Correctional Division in partnership with the Malaysian Prison Friends Club Association, featured 14 sporting events, including futsal, sepak takraw, netball, bodybuilding, arm wrestling, and traditional games such as tug of war and congkak.

Abdul Aziz said prisons are now seen not merely as places of punishment but also as a space of hope for individuals to build a better life when they return to society.

“Prisons have become platforms for rehabilitation and human development, with sports being one of the approaches we use to guide inmates from the darkness of their past towards a brighter future.

“Behind the concrete walls and iron bars, there is hope that we nurture,  not just the hope for freedom, but for a life of dignity,” he said.

-- BERNAMA