Kamunting Detention Centre

The Kamunting Detention Centre (KEMTA; Malay: Kem Tahanan Perlindungan Kamunting) is a prison camp located in Kamunting, near the town of Taiping, Perak, in Malaysia.[1] The prison is used by the government to detain and interrogate persons arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The detention is also known as Malaysia's Supermax prison or Maximum security prison. It is alleged that this is the site where the Malaysian authorities would hold up political prisoners. Among notable events which prompted widespread use of the ISA were Operation Lalang in 1987 and the years during the Reformasi movement, beginning 1999. The centre has also been used to detain other groups of people declared by the government to be a threat to national security such as terrorists and cults. Some notable groups detained in Kamunting includes the Al-Arqam cult and the Al-Ma'unah terrorist group.

Kamunting Detention Centre
Kem Tahanan Perlindungan Kamunting
LocationKamunting, Perak, Malaysia
Coordinates4°54′33″N 100°44′13″E
StatusActive
Security classSupermax
Population2,770 (as of 2014)
OpenedNovember 1973
Managed byMinistry of Home Affairs
DirectorHamzah Zainuddin

Population statistics
Type of offenceNumber of
detainees (2014)[2]
Communists1,702
Document falsification433
Terrorists193
Human trafficking159
Producing fake coins66
Religious and racial issues40
Subversive38
Intelligence16
Reformation activists7
Supplier of nuclear component1
Grand total2,770

Notable ex-detainees

References
  1. Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan, prison.gov.my
  2. Kamunting detention centre to become agro prison - Ahmad Zahid, The Sun Daily
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