The Prisons Department today denied that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's incarceration at the Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor had brought about reforms there including milk being given to all prisoners.

In a statement as reported by Bernama, the department explained that milk or supplementary food and diet items had long been provided to inmates having medical problems as recommended by the medical officer.

“Milk is supplied not because of Anwar is now spending time in prison,” the statement said in referring to Malaysiakini’s report on the matter.

It was reported on April 1 that Anwar's presence at the prison had spurred reforms with inmates now being given milk three times a week.

The department also denied that Anwar was engaged to give counselling and religious talks to other prisoners as they had their own qualified personnel for such matters.

With regards to Anwar being placed in solitary confinement, the department claimed it was for his own security and health reasons.

No application for documents

Anwar ( below right ) was sentenced to five years' jail after the Federal Court on Feb 10 upheld his conviction and jail term for sodomy . The PKR de facto leader has maintained his innocence saying the charges against him were trumped up as the result of a political conspiracy.

The department also denied reports that the prison had a limited number of books adding that any inmate including Anwar could have access to books or magazines as long as they abided by the stipulated procedures.

“As for parliamentary documents, as of until March 31, no one has applied for such documents to be given to Anwar,” the statement said.

The department also denied that police officers had posed as prison guards to spy on Anwar or that closed-circuit television cameras had been installed to monitor Anwar’s movements.