VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTRE PULAU JEREJAK, PENANG
In 1969, Jerejak Island began operating as an Alcatraz island to house prisoners. The place was full of life when there were prisoners raoming around the island and carrying out all sorts of activities around their detention camps. During August 1982, Jerejak Island has the highest record of 982 inmates until it was shut down in August 1993 where all the prisoners were moved to the Pudu prison in Kuala Lumpur. Jerejak Island looks pleasant from the outside, people who did not step foot onto the island would not know what lies beneath the story of the Malaysian Alcatraz. Today, Jerejak Island is currently at its worst state as it was left abandoned for almost a decade, the island itself requires the service that it once provided the people, Rehabilitation, restoring the vibrant life of the island like how it was once before. The Visitor Interpretive Centre allow people to understand the history of the surrounding site by walking on top of the prison-like structure raised above grounds which resembles the previous detention camps that was demolished. Visitors get to observe the rock markings which locate all the 24 detention camps at the surrounding site. At the end of the journey, visitors get to experience the way the prisoners dine at the cafe after a long walk, resembling the joyous moment of the prisoners when they were rewarded with a meal after a long day of hardwork.
