A TROUBLED past as a juvenile offender did not stop Muhammad Izzad Daniel Abdullah from turning over a new leaf, not just for himself but also to motivate others.

The 22-year-old former pupil of the Henry Gurney School in Telok Mas, Malacca – a juvenile rehabilitation centre under the Prisons Department – is now using his YouTube channel to keep youth away from a negative path.

This was made possible after he signed up for a course with the Yellow Ribbon Project, which gave young offenders a second chance at life.

The Yellow Ribbon Project was launched in October 2019 by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman. It is a platform which provides a second chance to troubled youth.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insight on his journey, which involved drugs, burglaries and robberies, Izzad said he experimented with drugs when he was just 13.

“I was sniffing glue at 13. I started doing drugs not because of the influence of friends but due to my own curiosity.

“I went on to look for friends who were into drugs and at that time I also had family problems.”

He was frequently expelled and kept changing schools between form 1 and 4.

“After doing drugs, I was also involved in criminal activities, such as thefts and robberies,” said Izzad, from Pahang.

He was arrested at 17 for breaking into a house and ended up at the Henry Gurney School as he was still underaged.

“I was depressed when I was at the Maran lock-up. Since I couldn’t escape, I thought of committing suicide. A corporal took note of my behaviour and approached me,” he said.

“He spoke to me like a friend and not a detainee. I remember he told me that this was not the end of my life.”

Izzad said the cop’s words inspired him to change once he had completed his correctional programme.

Lessons at Henry Gurney

Izzad said it took him a year to get used to the environment at Henry Gurney and stop missing home.

“There I learnt how to follow rules and to be disciplined. I was constantly breaking rules when I was outside but the environment at the school taught one to always obey the rules.”

Unlike normal schools, the school for young offenders is managed by wardens, with its system being similar to prisons.

His interest in studies also grew and he scored 5As in his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

“My intention was never to return to prison again. Henry Gurney is not the place for us to change as real change happens outside. Henry Gurney is the place where we learn to change,” he said.

“It is also a place to teach us to become human.”

It was after leaving Henry Gurney that Izzad joined a course by the Yellow Ribbon Project. And it was through the project that he landed a placement at Westport.

“I showed good commitment and discipline and I am still with Yellow Ribbon.

“It helped me a lot in my career and finances. It was very encouraging,” he said, adding that he is attached to the project on a part-time basis.

Izzad is currently pursuing his diploma in aviation management at the Cybernetics International College of Technology.

With two semesters left, Izzad dreams of working in the aviation sector.

“I want to be successful like others, I want to have what others have. I want to change for the better and be the best of the best.”

However, as an alternative to aviation, Izzad said he also wants to further his studies in the field of teaching.

“I want to be a motivator,” he said.

He is also making waves on YouTube with a subscriber base of 37,600. With the content, he intends to inspire other youth.

On the message he would like to spread through his YouTube channel, he said, “If we fail once, it doesn’t mean we will fail forever. The best teachers in life are learning from mistakes.”

Yellow Ribbon Project

The Yellow Ribbon Project is a joint initiative of the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Home Ministry, particularly the Prisons Department.

Its coordinator, Mohammad Rizan Hassan, said the main mission of the project is to help problematic youth lead better lives in society.

In the first year of inception, Rizan said the project received 24,234 participants comprising former convicts, persons under surveillance, former pupils of Henry Gurney and Tunas Bakti schools, as well as those who had undergone rehabilitation for drug abuse.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, from March 2020 until now, we’ve helped a total of 300 people by getting them job placements, providing social support to start afresh during the MCO (movement-control order) and financial aid.”

About 95% of the youth who got job placements through the Yellow Ribbon Project have remained in their jobs, said Rizan, adding there are companies affiliated with the programme.

“This is different when compared to youth who are not from this programme, they tend to change jobs, which makes employers lose hope on them.

“As for our participants, they remain at the same place, but they have also shown impressive performance, high discipline and the willingness to work.

“This project has delivered successful icons who can be an inspiration to youth who have dropped out or are delinquent to not indulge in wrongdoings,” he added.

Rizan said societal acceptance and employment opportunities are some of the biggest challenges faced by such youth.

In terms of employment, he said opportunities are limited even though they have gone through skills training, rehabilitation and correctional programmes.

“Not many employers dare to give them a second chance. This is unfair because they have already been punished for their wrongdoings.

“The difficulty to get a job may push them to negative activities again.”

There are five clusters in the programme – skills development, sports, entrepreneurship, job marketability and awareness campaign – all in line with the Malaysian youth policy to strengthen the potential of youth as the drivers of the country’s strategic development.

In addition, the project aims to clear the negative stigma attached to problematic youth and give them a second chance in life. – March 6, 2021.