Jeshurun is likely to be the first person former inmates from Kajang Prison will see after serving their prison sentences. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
Jeshurun Fathianathan still remembers the day he had to pick up two former inmates from the Kajang Prison. His thoughts were clouded by worst case scenarios like what if the two men overpowered him and drove away with his car?
“They were bigger than me so I admit that I had some concerns! But when they got into the car, there was nothing but silence. Eventually, I asked them if they were feeling okay and it was then that they opened up about their fears about life after prison,” Jeshurun said.
His perception about the former inmates then quickly changed as he tried to empathise with their situation.
“They shared that most people would stigmatise them for being in jail, and it would be hard for them to get jobs. Even family members didn’t want to see them and they were scared that they would have to resort to crime again just to cope with life,” Jeshurun revealed.
As an operations executive at BeliGas, a startup that offers employment to former inmates, Jeshurun is the first person the former inmates see after they have completed serving their prison sentences. He is known to most of them as “Abang Jesh”.
“We usually take the ones who say they have no idea where to go,” he said, adding that his role is to take them back to BeliGas’s headquarters in Balakong, Selangor, where they are briefed about work opportunities with the company.
Jeshurun share that his team trains these former inmates on how to perform deliveries. The company invests in getting these former inmates driving licenses to operate bigger vehicles, as well as provides them with lodging, clothes and meals.
Suthan says BeliGas also is passionate about helping the B40 community and former prison inmates to find employment. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
Better tomorrow
Managing Director Suthan Mookaiah founded BeliGas in 2020, aiming to encourage consumers to recycle used cooking oil by rewarding them with discounted LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and cooking oil. The company provides delivery services for the LPG and cooking oil, and collects used cooking oil from consumers at the same time.
Customers just have to place orders through the “BeliGas – Recycle Used Cooking Oil For Cheaper LPG” app on their phones.
Suthan shared: “Many people just dump their used cooking oil into the drain which could end up clogging pipes and polluting our water sources. When, in fact, used cooking oil can be reused in many ways such as recycled into biodiesel.”
More than just providing environmental friendly solutions for cooking oils, Suthan says BeliGas also is passionate about helping the B40 community and former prison inmates to find employment.
“I grew up in a rough neighbourhood in Kajang. As a kid, I saw for myself how some people end up resorting to crime out of desperation. I feel they are not bad people. If you ask me, their ‘mistake’ is being born poor and not having many choices in life. I was fortunate enough to get out of that environment and now I want to give people the opportunity to break out of their cycle too,” he said.
Overcoming obstacles
Jeshurun, who has been working with BeliGas for a year now, said that working to help the former inmates settle into life post prison can be challenging. Truth be told, a few of them do end up back in prison months after being released or they run away and are never heard from again. Jeshurun has had to provide emotional support as well, and shared how one former inmate would call him up even in the wee hours of the morning.
“He kept saying someone was going to kill him. I would help him stay calm. Eventually he came to his senses after I asked if he wanted me to get the police to check his home and he said no,” Jeshurun said.
Suthan, too, admitted that there have been instances when former inmates end up stealing some of the company’s assets like motorcycles and running away. For some cases, the Prison Department would have to be notified, especially when the inmates are still on parole.
“But you know, it is the success stories that keep us going. These are the people that we really want to keep helping because they have proven to us that they can change for the better,” Suthan said.
One example is Muhammad Noor, who spent six months in prison for burglary, but has turned his life around. After completing his training period at BeliGas, Muhammad Noor works for the company by performing gas deliveries and keeping track of inventory. “I feel very lucky” he said.
Suthan also shared that some former inmates have mustered the courage to go back to their families after getting stable employment with BeliGas.
“Then they also went on to start their own families!” he adds.
Suthan is working towards creating more opportunities for former inmates to not just work at BeliGas but also find job prospects in other fields. He feels that this will also help to address the issue of manpower shortage in Malaysia.
“There is a hotel in Bangi that approached us about wanting to hire former prison inmates as workers and we shared our experiences about how it can be done by providing the right tools such as training and moral support to encourage them to not stray from their goals,” he said.
BeliGas will also be working on a pilot programme with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Malaysia to encourage more F&B companies to dispose of their cooking oil responsibly.
“We find that many companies are not sure about what to do with their used oil. It’s worrying because some could turn it back into cooking oil which may not be safe for human consumption. The UNGC programme will match companies with our services and we will endeavour to provide more sustainable solutions for them.”
