Families of 30 death row inmates hopeful Putrajaya will abolish capital punishment this year

Source: Malay Mail (21 February 2022)

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/02/21/families-of-30-death-row-inmates-hopeful-putrajaya-will-abolish-capital-pun/2042954

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — The families of more than 30 death row inmates are hopeful that this year they will get some form of cheer should the Malaysian government decide to abolish the death penalty.

This comes amid Putrajaya’s promise to study proposed alternatives to the death penalty before the end of this month, as mentioned by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who said a special committee tasked to review the death penalty had briefed him of its findings last month.

Shamala T Manickarajah is a representative of the families who is spearheading the movement along with the various NGOs in order to push for the release, retrial, reduction of sentence, and ultimately, the abolishment of the death penalty of those convicted.

Shamala said she was inspired to help the families after finding out a childhood friend’s husband had been sentenced for drug possession. He has been in jail in Perlis for 13 years.

As part of her efforts, she shared how she helps the families write letters to the various agencies and to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yearly begging for clemency for the convicted.

She said most of the families did not know how to go about getting clemency so she guided them through the process.

“After repping my friend, I was going to Bentong jail and saw many prisoners crying, waiting for family members so I decided to help them and not just my friend’s husband. I recall in the early days I helped all the makciks and pakciks fill up their forms and wrote letters for them to the prisons and so on. Most of them are poor.

“Last year, we went as a group to see Datuk Liew Vui Keong and he promised to look into our cases but he then passed away. When we went to Putrajaya to the offices, we were told they have our letters and are considering them so we are hoping for the best,” Shamala said during a press conference organised by Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM) today.

“We heard this year the Agong nominated 27 names for pardon. We are praying it is some of us because many of the victims have been in prison for more than a decade.”

In August 2019, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration formed the Special Committee to Review Alternative Punishments to the Mandatory Death Penalty to examine alternatives to the mandatory death sentence.

The PH government collapsed in February 2020, however, before the Bill for the abolition of the death penalty could be tabled in the March meeting of Parliament that year.

Wan Junaidi had said that before the government decides on any amendments, it needed to determine the effectiveness of capital punishment as a deterrent to crime while also looking at alternative punishments.

Chiara Sangiorgio, an expert on the death penalty for Amnesty International, said the general public was always hesitant to agree to abolishing the death penalty but studies show that once the rule was in place, society eventually eased into it.

“The global trend shows most countries are abolishing it as it was eight countries in 1958, now it is 108 countries that have abolished the death penalty.

“When it is abolished, public opinion changes despite the initial hesitancy; hence, we need to continue to talk about death penalty and challenge its effectiveness as there is no evidence to show it prevents further crime,” said Chiara.

In addition Chiara said from 2015 to 2020, 10 countries conducted executions and in 2020 Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq made up close to 90 per cent of total reported executions worldwide.

There are eight countries including Malaysia that execute people for drug offences.

“While the direction is clear, Malaysia is at a crossroads but they have the opportunity to make the change. There’s been some progress with the moratorium but what we have learnt when it comes to the use of the death penalty in Malaysia see lot of arbitrariness a lot of unfairness and discrimination.

“The key learning from this is that piecemeal reforms will not work and fixing the unfixable will not work. That’s why we call for a bold stance to be taken by the government of Malaysia and get rid of it once and for all,” she said.

Malaysia has had a moratorium on all executions since 2018 while awaiting recommendations from the committee.

Shamala said the families of the incarcerated understand that some of their actions are wrong, while others claim they were wrongly convicted; either way, she is hopeful there will be progress this year.

“I feel the Malaysian government will definitely abolish the death penalty. From the families’ side, they are hoping the sentences of their loved ones can be reduced or they are released for time served,” she said.

Malaysia must take the lead in Southeast Asia by abolishing the death penalty

Source: New Straits Times (10 February 2022)

https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2022/02/770152/malaysia-must-take-lead-southeast-asia-abolishing-death-penalty

MALAYSIA is on the path of becoming a nation that will put the dignity of human beings and human rights before any other consideration.

This would be the case if the government eliminated the death penalty from its penal code.

By the end of the month, the government could embrace the likely recommendations being provided by a committee headed by former chief justice Tun Richard Malanjun, findings that hopefully will prove that alternative sentencing to the death penalty is possible and in the best interest of the country.

Public opinion is swayed by the emotional turmoil and trauma caused by stories about the death penalty.

It is regrettable that judges kept sentencing people to death despite an official moratorium being in place and an imperfect but still positive amendment to the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 in 2017.

The amendment did away with automatic mandatory penalty and instead gave a discretion to judges to decide, based on conditions to be met for not imposing the death penalty on someone.

That's why the government must follow through and make a case for a total, unconditional abolition of the death penalty.

There should not be any hesitation on this move.

Even Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat recently said that stiff sentences did not seem to deter people from getting involved in drugs.

It is a case that criminologists around the world, together with activists, are trying to make, a case that must be built on evidence, even when it is harder to come up with solid evidence, like the role deterrence plays in drug-related crimes.

This is an effort worth taking and must continue, even if it takes time.

We know that those who suffer the worst consequences in these cases are the vulnerable.

In Malaysia, despite conservative mindsets in the judiciary, politicians — with their hesitancy and changes of positions, shifting from a bold and progressive stance to a weakened position — are mature enough to understand that capital punishment does not reflect the modern values the country stands for.

This is one of the reasons why a possible cabinet decision to abolish the death penalty has wider implications for the region as well.

We know that the Asean community works based on the principle of non-interference, but advocating against capital punishment is not about minding someone's else business but rather working to promote a better humanity, a fairer and more just global civilisation founded on unalienable human rights.

The committee led by Malanjun devoted considerable attention to alternative sentencing, not just for the sake of delivering less cruel punishments, but also as a way to redeem and rehabilitate convicted criminals.

This path of redemption might not be always feasible and a life sentence with no parole might be the best option available, but it is important not to forget that jails should be places for moral resto-ration and not personal destruction and demolition.

Hopefully, politicians studying Malanjun's report will make the right decision and use this as an opportunity to frame a strong, progressive strategy to promote human rights beyond the nation's borders.

While waiting for the cabinet to take a final decision, the path is already clear: Malaysia must lead the way in Southeast
Asia by getting rid of the death penalty.

In a nutshell, this column is about Malaysia taking the lead not only domestically but also internationally to promote the defence of life.

The nation should pursue this cause not from a position of moral supremacy and perfection, but from one of humility.

That's the place where Malay-sia started learning, showing itself to be able to change its mind, become better, more humane and an example to those who refuse to change.

The author writes on civic engagement, youth development, Sustainable Development Goals and regional integration in the context of the Asia Pacific