BN, PH Plus and BN-PN-GPS governments and the Abolition of Death Penalty in Malaysia

Source: MADPET-Malaysians Against Death Penalty & Torture (9 October 2021)

https://madpet06.blogspot.com/2021/10/bn-ph-plus-and-bn-pn-gps-governments.html 

On the occasion of World Day Against the Death Penalty (10th October), MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) notes positively the change in the Malaysian position to now be inclined towards the abolition of the death penalty.

On Dec 16 2020, Malaysia voted in support of the resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The UNGA adopted the resolution with 123 votes in favour, 38 against and 24 abstentions. The global trend indicates growing support for abolition.

Barisan Nasional Rule

During the Barisan Nasional(BN) rule under the then Prime Minister Najib Razak, the then Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, the de facto Law Minister, during the Parliamentary session on 2/11/2016 clarified that Malaysia was not just looking at abolishing the mandatory death penalty, but all death penalty.

The BN government then acted to remove the absolute mandatory death penalty for the offence of drug trafficking vide an amendment of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 that came into force on 15/3/2018. Now, judges could sentence those convicted to death or to imprisonment for life (plus whipping of not less than fifteen strokes). However, the alternate to death penalty was available only if limited conditions were fulfilled, one of which was ‘that the person convicted has assisted an enforcement agency in disrupting drug trafficking activities within or outside Malaysia…’, whereby this draconian condition undermines also one’s right to a fair trial, which include the right to 2 appeals. Full judicial discretion when it comes to sentencing is still being curtailed, but it was better than before when only death penalty if convicted of drug trafficking.

Pakatan Harapan Plus Rule

During the Pakatan Harapan Plus(PH Plus) rule, there was first talks about abolition of death penalty, and later just about the abolition of the mandatory death penalty but at the end of their time in power, sadly there was not even a Bill tabled towards abolition of the death penalty.

It was announced on October 10 2018 (being also the World Day Against the Death Penalty), that the Malaysian Cabinet had reached a consensus (a collective decision) that the death penalty for 33 offences as provided for under eight Acts of law would be abolished, and this was again reiterated several times(Straits Times, 13/11/2018).

However, on 13/3/2019, it was reported that Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin in Parliament said that the ‘…the government will only repeal the mandatory death penalty...’ for 11 criminal offences. (NST, 13/3/2019)

The change in position from total abolition to death penalty, to just abolishing the mandatory death penalty may have sadly been because of a knee-jerk response to political actions initiated by the then Opposition, for example the ‘‘MCA Youth against Abolition of the Death Penalty’’ campaign that started on 20 Nov 2018.

It is disturbing when a government’s principled position and/or promises, can so easily change simply because of a questionable worry of possible loss of political support that may affect future elections. When the French National Assembly voted to abolish the death penalty 40 years ago, more than 60 percent of the population still backed capital punishment. But the then president François Mitterrand and the government stood by their position, no matter the political cost.

Perikatan-BN-GPS Plus Rule

When the Perikatan Nasional(PN)-BN Plus came into power, to date there is still no Bills tabled to bring about the abolition of the death penalty, or even just the mandatory death penalty. Malaysia, under this government, continued to vote in favour of UNGA resolution calling for a moratorium on executions pending abolition of the death penalty.

Now, we have a new UMNO Prime Minister, heading a BN-Perikatan-GPS plus coalition government, and we hope that this government finally do the needed to abolish the death penalty, and until then continue to maintain a moratorium on executions.

Death Row

Malaysia has a very large number of persons on death row. An Amnesty International report disclosed that in early 2019, there were 1281 persons on death row, including 141 women. Today, the numbers will be even higher.

Getting statistics from government is very difficult, and the normal method is if a Member of Parliament or Senator ask a Parliamentary Question. MADPET calls for the Malaysian government to be transparent, and reveal statistics of death row prisoners, and even crimes committed at least once every quarter.

The then amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952(DDA), that abolished mandatory death penalty, failed to address the issue of persons who committed the offence before the amendment came into force, and those that were on death row. Note that amendment came about after a realization that most on death row are ‘mules’, not the ‘kingpins’ of the drug trafficking trade, and as such ‘mules’ or persons conned should justly not be sentenced to death. The position that led to the amendment of the DDA should have resulted in pardons of many on death row, commuting their death sentence to imprisonment.

Pardon powers with King and State Rulers

In Malaysia, the King have the power to pardon if the offence was committed in Federal Territories only, and with regard to offences committed in States, then the ‘…Ruler or Yang di- Pertua Negeri of a State has power to grant pardons..’.

As many of the States are ruled by the Opposition, the question is why these State government failed to move the State Rulers to pardon and commute death sentences to prison terms for those on death row for offences committed in his State. Lack of transparency makes it difficult to conclude the numbers on death row inmates for offences committed in a particular state, or even the number of death row inmates that have applied for pardon, and the number who had been successful or otherwise.

In 1983, the late Datuk Mokhtar Hashim, then Culture, Youth and Sports Minister received the death penalty for the murder of Datuk Taha Talib, the state assemblyman for Tampin, In 1984 he received a ‘royal pardon’ when his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and thereafter in 1991 another ‘royal pardon’ set him free from prison. We hope that pardons and commutation of sentences are available to all, not simply certain politicians.

MADPET calls on Federal and State governments to move to get persons on death row pardoned, and their sentences commuted. Malaysia must be against the taking of lives, for repentance and rehabilitation, for second chances and re-integration into society for the reformed criminal.

Abolition of the Death Penalty includes abolishing extrajudicial killings/executions

When the State/Government through police or other law enforcement personnel, instead of arresting and according a person a fair trial, ends up killing a suspect or some other, there must be an independent inquiry to determine whether it was an indirect ‘death penalty’ by State or its agents. This could be done by way of an inquest. As a matter of policy and/or law, the government can decide that all such police killing incidents will be inquired into by an independent Coroner (a Magistrate or Judge).

The abolition of the death penalty have many often stated reasons, including the risk of miscarriage of justice and the negative impact of the family and children of the executed or persons on death row. Death penalty has been shown not to be a deterrent to crime.

MADPET reiterates its call for the abolition of the death penalty, including extrajudicial killings, and that Malaysia continues to impose a moratorium on execution pending abolition.

Charles Hector

For and on behalf of MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)

ADPAN – On the World Day Against the Death Penalty October 10, 2018

Source: Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (10 October 2018)

https://adpan.org/2018/10/10/adpan-on-the-world-day-against-the-death-penalty-october-10-2018/

Press Statement
On the World Day Against the Death Penalty
October 10, 2018

On 10 October each year, the international community reflects on the death penalty and its futility.

This year, we also reflect on the terrible and cruel physical conditions most death penalty prisoners are forced to suffer. All prisoners on death row share the same psychological torment, as they await an unnecessary and brutal death at a pre-arranged hour, whether soon or an unknown number of days or years away.

On this World Day Against the Death Penalty, Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN, a network of organizations and individuals aiming for the abolition of the Death Penalty) reaffirms its strong and unequivocal opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and for all cases. ADPAN considers the death penalty incompatible with human dignity. The international research shows that the death penalty does not have any proven deterrent effect. Whether used against prisoners who are powerless and poor, minorities who are marginalized, or political enemies, the death penalty brutalizes and diminishes each society which employs it.

On this day of the year, we call on the retentionist States who still regularly execute, to immediately put in place a moratorium, and to abandon this futile and cruel relic of history.

All too often, conditions for prisoners facing execution are cruel and harsh. Conditions vary around the world, but in some places, cruelties range from torture to overcrowding in filthy conditions to denial of basic rights such as regular access to lawyers or family, to being detained without hope for long periods, all too often in cramped, excessively hot or cold and inhuman conditions.

Systemic problems vary around the world, but these terrible prison conditions are too often accompanied by trials which have been unfair, in justice systems in urgent need of reform.

In Asia, there has been mixed development in the abolition movement in the last 12 months. On the one hand, we have seen the amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act in Malaysia, which the government then described as a “baby step” towards abolition. In this amendment, the presiding judge is given some discretion to impose imprisonment rather than death on a convicted drug trafficking offender if certain conditions are proven. Nevertheless, whether this amendment will save lives is yet to be seen. Indonesia is also undergoing a review of its Criminal Code where, if passed, the death penalty will no longer be a primary sentence. Korea is affirming its commitment to abolition, while Cambodia has resisted a call to reintroduce the death penalty.

On the other hand, there was also a steep increase in executions in this region. Earlier this year, Japan executed 13 people within a short span of time; Thailand executed 1 person after 9 years of moratorium; Taiwan executed 1 person without much warning; we have information that Singapore recently executed 3 people; not to mention the many executions in China and Vietnam which are so often done in secret. The Philippines is threatening to bring back the death penalty, only a delayed Senate vote is holding back the floodgates; so too, Mongolia is debating reverting back to executions.

In Pakistan, executions through special and military courts and trials have been carried out, in the face of criticism of the courts’ failures to adhere to their guarantees of fair trial and due process. In India, despite extraordinary delays and other systemic problems within the justice system, there has been a rush to calling for more and more executions, in the face of child and other rape cases. In Bangladesh, there has been an increase on death penalty conviction in recent years, totally as at September 2018, 1680 people on death row.

What these occasional executions and clamor for executions all too often show is that the death penalty is used as a tool for some other undisclosed political purpose.

However, we also note that there has been an increase in discourse and dialogue on this issue within society and among policymakers, which we view as most desirable and healthy. We, in ADPAN, place much emphasis on continued education and dialogue in an open and transparent environment. We are firmly of the view that wherever there is honest, courageous and careful study of a justice system, its flaws, its strengths, its purposes; in combination with a study of trials, acknowledging the reality everywhere of the inevitability in every system of some wrongful convictions; with honest assessments of state brutality when it occurs, together with the study of prison conditions, and other relevant matters, then the futility and unnecessary cruelty of state-sanctioned executions will become apparent. So many countries of the world have already done this – rich and poor, of all political and religious persuasions. It is time for the remaining executing countries to do the same.

ADPAN envisions a world without the death penalty, and we start from Asia. Asia covers a vast geographical area, diverse and rich in ethnicity and culture, with different forms of government. We understand the challenges, yet we believe that with the hard work of all stakeholders and the commitment towards humanity, this is not an impossible goal. History and the changes of the last 70 years show us that such goals are not merely dreams but can become practical realities.

Last but not least, on this 10th October, as every corner of the world commemorates the World Day Against the Death Penalty, ADPAN wish to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation to the abolition community and welcome all others to join the family as we call for the abolition of the death penalty, an end to state-sanctioned killings.

Issued by:

ADPAN Executive Committee

10 October 2018

contactadpan@gmail.com

Will a New Malaysia Kill the Old Death Penalty?

Source: The Diplomat (18 October 2018)

https://thediplomat.com/2018/10/will-a-new-malaysia-get-rid-of-the-old-death-penalty/

In a sign of potential reform, the Malaysian government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad appears to be moving toward abolishing the death penalty. Though there is still some uncertainty around how things will eventually play out, it has nonetheless sparked a conversation about potential alternatives the country could adopt in this respect.

Malaysia is not alone in having the death penalty in Southeast Asia. While a few countries have abolished the death penalty in recent decades, such as Cambodia and the Philippines, it is still used in other countries like Indonesia and Singapore and remains on the books in other places such as Brunei and Laos. Despite variations in frequency of use, it has at times led to unwanted tensions in diplomatic relations with countries opposed to the death penalty.

In Malaysia, by one estimate, about 1,200 people are on death row for crimes ranging from murder to drug trafficking. Charges like rape that causes death, child rape, kidnapping, and terrorism also carry the death penalty.

Law Minister Liew Vui Keong has raised the possibility of Malaysia getting rid of the death penalty and considering alternatives. Liew has cast this as part of a wider promise by the new government in its election manifesto to get rid of oppressive and cruel laws in the country.

The re-evaluation, which initially made headlines around the World Day Against the Death penalty, has been tentatively welcomed by international rights groups and was an obvious cause for celebration by those on death row. Amnesty International led the chorus of human rights groups that are campaigning for an end to the death penalty, saying the Malaysian decision was “a major step forward” for what is “an ultimate cruel, inhumane, degrading punishment.”

Despite the initial optimism, the exact path forward for Malaysia in this respect remains unclear. The Law Minister has expanded on why a reconsideration is necessary, pointing to the fact that there has been a government study conducted indicating that there is no deterrent effect from the death penalty. He also has ordered a halt on all executions until legislation is gazetted and comes into effect.

“Since we are abolishing the sentence, all executions should not be carried out… We will inform the Pardons Board to look into various applications for convicts on the waiting list to either be commuted or released.”

To address concerns among some, including lawmakers, Liew has also subsequently said that Malaysia will approach any re-evaluation carefully, including making sure that the death penalty is replaced by some version of life imprisonment or longer jail terms, with a terms of 30 years being thrown out as an example.

But the Malaysian Bar has warned that death sentences should not automatically be replaced by these alternatives, but rather be replaced by specific jail terms in relation to the severity of their offences and other specific circumstances.

“Only then will the punishment of imprisonment meted out be just and effective,” its president George Varughese said in a statement on October 16.

One thing is for certain: if Malaysia does get rid of the death penalty, it will be in good company. Malaysia will emerge as the 107th country to rid itself of state-sanctioned killing, compared with just 64 nations just two decades ago.

Luke Hunt can be followed on Twitter @lukeanthonyhunt

Indonesia’s Contradictory Death Penalty Rhetoric

Source: Human Rights Watch (11 October 2017)

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/11/indonesias-contradictory-death-penalty-rhetoric

Indonesia’s government on Tuesday marked World Day Against the Death Penalty by issuing a self-serving and contradictory statement on its death penalty policy.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly reaffirmed the government won’t seek to abolish the death penalty, but would pursue a “win-win solution” designed to appease both death penalty supporters and opponents. That might include mandatory judicial reviews of death penalty judgments and possible sentence commutation for death row prisoners.

Indonesia ended a four-year unofficial moratorium on the death penalty in March 2013, and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has made the execution of convicted drug traffickers a signature policy issue. Since Jokowi took office in 2014, 18 convicted drug traffickers were executed in 2015 and 2016 – the majority citizens of other countries. Jokowi has routinely rejected their governments’ calls for clemency, citing national sovereignty. The government’s apparent newfound flexibility on its death penalty policy, including a temporary suspension of executions in 2017, was linked by the attorney general to its ambitions to secure United Nations member support to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Recent evidence uncovered by the ombudsman of “maladministration” by the Indonesian government in denying the legal rights of a Nigerian citizen executed for drug trafficking in July 2016 underscore the need for the death penalty’s abolition. But Laoly’s claims of a more flexible death penalty policy are contradicted by Indonesia’s performance last month during the UN Universal Periodic Review of Indonesia’s rights record. Jakarta rejected recommendations by UN member countries that the government enhance safeguards on the use of the death penalty, including adequate and early legal representation for defendants and not executing people with mental illness. It also rejected a recommendation to review all cases with a view to commuting death sentences or at least ensuring “fair trials that fully comply with international standards.”

Jokowi’s government should stop its cynical efforts to use the cruel and irreversible punishment of the death penalty as a bargaining chip for a Security Council seat. Instead it should publicly recognize that the death penalty has no place in a right-respecting country and immediately move toward abolition.

8 Years Since Last Thai Execution, Future of Death Penalty Uncertain

Source: Khaosod English (12 October 2017)

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2017/10/12/8-years-last-execution-abolition-still-not-guaranteed/

BANGKOK — Those campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty may take solace in the fact that no one has been executed for eight years. There have been no actual executions, but a senior government official said it’s simply impossible to predict when capital punishment will be abolished in Thailand.

Pitikan Sitthidej, Director General of the Department of Rights and Liberties said it’s impossible to pin down when Thailand will do away with death penalty despite having observed a de facto moratorium since 2009.

“I can’t say when it will end but in practice it will soon be 10 years since no execution has taken place,” Pitikan said. “We don’t know when death penalty will be abolished.”

Pitikan was vague on whether it would be.

At present there are 63 crimes that merit death sentence under Thai law, ranging from people found guilty of the rape and murder of girls under 15 or their parents to big time drug dealers and extremists. Pitikan pointed out that under the Thai penal code, any criminal sentenced to death will automatically be required to apply for a royal pardon to the king in hope of having the sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

According to a document of the justice ministry, there were 444 inmates sentenced to death at various stages of the judiciary system as of April 2017. The document also states that during the 65th UN General Assembly in 2010, Thailand no longer voted to oppose a move to end the death penalty but had decided to abstain from voting.

However, according to the same paper, the ministry conducted a survey on the possible abolition of the death penalty on 1,073 people in all the four regions of the country as well as in Bangkok and discovered that 73 percent of respondents still supported death penalty.

Campaign groups such as Amnesty International Thailand took the opportunity on the World Day Against the Death Penalty on Tuesday to renew its call for the abolition of capital punishment in Thailand.

Knowing that it is still far from being realized, the organization’s director Piyanut Kotsan said she wanted to see the Thai government announce a formal moratorium on capital punishment and decrease the number of crimes punishable by death.

“We’re quietly lobbying and maintain the trend for the end of death penalty,” said Piyanut on Tuesday.

Pitikan said there will be no formal announcement of moratorium as in reality Thailand is also a de facto moratorium state on the matter.

“What announcement? I am confused. How do we make such announcement?” said Pitakan, adding that the Third National Human Rights Plan, covering 2014 to 2018, clearly stated that the state shall conduct studies on the possible abolition of the death penalty. When asked about a campaign to educate the public about the negative repercussion of death penalty such as the violation of the right to life, Pitikan said the department lacks funding to engage in such campaign as it has only 300 million baht budget per annum.

In the end, said the director general, whether Thailand will abolish capital punishment or not depends not on international organizations such as Amnesty International or the government but on the society’s consensus itself.

“We must consider the direction of our society as well,” Pitikan said.

While it’s still common for some Thais on social media to keep calling for some criminals – particularly those who have committed rape and murder – to be executed, the anti-death penalty argument is slowly becoming known.

Pitikan for example stressed that a wrongful death penalty means those executed can no longer be brought back to life.

“It’s against the basic human rights principle of the right to life. Most of those [sentenced] tend to be poor and underprivileged.”

Chamnan Chanruang, a prominent campaigner for the end of death penalty said ending the death penalty is not about not punishing the wrongdoers while death penalty is vindictive and about revenge.

“What should be done is not to eliminate these people but to find out the root cause and eliminate it. If we hate what they did we shouldn’t commit the same things which is to become criminals by allowing acting as executioners on our behalf,” said Chamnan.

Death penalty has 'no place in 21st century'

Source: Channel News Asia (11 October 2017)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/death-penalty-has-no-place-in-21st-century-un-chief-9298458?view=DEFAULT

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an end to the death penalty on Tuesday (Oct 10), insisting it has "no place in the 21st century".

He urged member states that still execute convicts to join the 170 countries that have halted or abolished the practice, warning that the risk of a miscarriage of justice is an "unacceptably high price" to pay.

"I want to make a plea to all states that continue this barbaric practice: please stop the executions," Guterres said at an event marking the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty.

Capital punishment "does little to serve victims or deter crime," Guterres said, adding that most of the UN's 193 members do not carry out executions.

"Just last month, two African states - The Gambia and Madagascar - took major steps towards irreversible abolition of the death penalty," he said.

"In 2016, executions worldwide were down 37 per cent from 2015. Today just four countries are responsible for 87 per cent of all recorded executions," he added.
Advertisement

Those four countries are China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, a UN official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Guterres also called for transparency from states where the death penalty is legal, asking them to let lawyers do their job.

"Some governments conceal executions and enforce an elaborate system of secrecy to hide who is on death row, and why," Guterres said. "Others classify information on the death penalty as a state secret, making its release an act of treason."

This lack of transparency "shows a lack of respect for the human rights of those sentenced to death and to their families."

Source: AFP/de

13th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Drug Crimes

The 2015 World Day leaflet provides information on the issues surrounding drug crimes and the death penalty. It also provides arguments in favour of abolishing the death penalty.

http://www.worldcoalition.org/media/resourcecenter/2015WD-LeafletEN.pdf