The museum building used to be a prison built in Malaysia. The building was originally constructed in 1860 by Governor Colonel Cavenagh as HM Prison Jail. In 1964, it was changed to Henry Gurney School 2nd Bandar Hilir. On 11 June 1990, it was upgraded to be Bandar Hilir Prison. Finally, approval was issued by the Prisons Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs to modify the prison into a museum. The Malaysia Prison Museum was officially opened by Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca Mohd Khalil Yaakob on 20 November 2014.
