Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the ministry would approve the application from the organisers to hold the debate, which he personally believed should take place.

“The application has been submitted and we will approve it. In fact, I support it (the debate),” he said.

He was speaking at the 227th Prisons Day and National Anti-Drugs Day 2017 celebrations officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the Simpang Renggam Prison here yesterday.

The topics of the debate, which will be held at the Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Sultan Azlan Shah, will include the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal, which rocked the nation in the 1990s when Mahathir was prime minister.

Meanwhile, Nur Jazlan revealed that 17,000 of the 50,000 prisoners in Malaysia had been released on parole due to good behaviour.

However, he said, the parole programme was not well received by the prisoners’ families, who were still traumatised by the crimes of the prisoners and were unsure if they had repented and were fully rehabilitated.

Nur Jazlan said he hoped the Correctional Foundation launched by the deputy prime minister today would help to develop the life skills of the prisoners and aid in their rehabilitation through its various programmes.

“These programmes provide training to Prisons Department staff so that they can teach the inmates essential life skills

“It is important that former convicts are able to lead a normal life after serving their sentence as they may not be accepted back by their families,” he said.