Gerakan lauuches campaign for the abolition of the death penalty - the 1st BN political party to do so

Gerakan moves to unite M'sians against death penalty

Susan Loone 2:14PM Dec 21, 2013

Gerakan is planning to launch a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures to call for the abolition of the death penalty in January.

The party's national legal and human rights bureau chief Baljit Singh said the call to abolish capital punishment in Malaysia cuts across the political divide.

"There are those in Gerakan who support the death penalty as there are some in Pakatan, too. But this issue cuts across borders, so let's work on it together," he told Malaysiakini.

Baljit added that Gerakan welcomes all parties and NGOs, covering all issues - whether social, economic, or political to join forces to get rid of this law.

It is learnt that Churches and Buddhist groups have indicated their interest in joining the campaign.

"This is one of Gerakan's effort to go back to the party's basic struggle. This issue will be brought to the prime minister and Parliament with the hope that it would be discussed and debate and eventually lead to the abolishment of the law," he said.

Penalty also comes under review

Baljit added that  while Gerakan calls for the law which he described as "cruel, inhuman and archaic", to be abolished,  the punishment under the law is also under review.

"We will study if the punishment is commensurate with the gravity of the crime. It is a degrading law which is against basic human rights, the right to life," he said.

At least 20 countries have put a lid on the death penalty while in Malaysia, the law is imposed for drugs trafficking, kidnapping, murder, possession of fire arms and waging war against the king.

Death could be by hanging, execution (shooting), electric chair and the administration of lethal injection.

Baljit said the arguments of those who support the law range from rehabilitation of the criminal being useless, that the public should not bear the cost of prisons, public safety, crime deterrent, retribution (an eye for an eye) and vengeance.

"Vengeance tops the list of reasons for supporting the death penalty. If it is a good deterrent, then why is it that those caught for drugs continue to rise?" He asked.

"On the other hand, there are concerns that people are wrongly convicted, there is also the religious and moral argument that we cannot put another human being to death (we are not God)," he added.

"We see in many cases that it is always the small fish (insignificant people) who get caught. It is always the drug mules like Malaysian Yong Vui Kong detained in Singapore and not the kingpins who faces the death penalty," he stressed.

"Also, there are incidences where those who commit lesser crime are dealt heavier penalties, instead of those who commit big crimes".

Baljit said Malaysia has yet to endorse a moratorium on the death penalty called by the United Nation General Assembly in 2007 and 2010.

"It is time Malaysia joined the moratorium," said Baljit. - Malaysiakini, 21/12/2013, Gerakan moves to unite M'sians against death penalty

Is it time to 'retire' the hangman? (fz.com)

Is it time to 'retire' the hangman?

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First Published: 7:01am, Nov 19, 2013

Last Updated: 12:09pm, Nov 19, 2013

 

Opinion

'The Writest Thing' by Mohsin Abdullah

 

REUTERS PIX

• 

"THE hangman and his assistant arrive outside the condemned man's cell about five minutes before the scheduled time for execution. The prisoner is handcuffed behind his back and a loose fitting hood is placed over his head.

 

"In an ideal world, the prisoner cooperated by walking to the large single trapdoor capable of accommodating three people at one time. Once positioned on the trapdoor, it was the hangman's job to pull the noose tight under the prisoner's left jawbone.

 

"For those whose legs did not have the strength to hold them in their final moments, a small two legged support would be offered to enable them to rest their bodyweight.

 

"The executioner's assistant pinioned the legs and then, following the command from the senior officer, the lever was pulled, plunging the prisoner (or prisoners) to an instant death into the pit below". 

 

Terrifying moments that one. It was an execution by hanging in Kuala Lumpur's Pudu Jail as described by veteran journalist Tim Donoghue in his well written biography of lawyer cum politician Karpal Singh.

 

The book is entitled 'Karpal Singh - The Tiger of Jelutong'. And in it Donoghue also wrote that "Karpal agrees with former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke that hanging is barbaric" as the lawyer believes there are more humane way of doing it, if at all, executions need to be carried out.

 

Karpal, as Donoghue tells us, "knows as he has had to help more than 50 mainly condemned men and their families to get through the process".

 

And the veteran journalist went on to write "there is also the toll the death penalty takes on the family of the prisoner to be killed by the state. In Malaysia the lives of the condemned person's family are placed in limbo for ten years - the average length of time the court process take - and very often parents and siblings can think of little else but the welfare of their loved one as he or she slowly works their way through the legal system".

 

Needless to say it is not easy for anyone involved including the hangman who, in the words of Donoghue, "get absolutely no satisfaction out of having to execute a prisoner by hanging, no matter what crime they have committed".

 

Capital punishment in Malaysia applies to murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping, treason, waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. And recently - acts of terrorism.

 

And as far as drugs and possession of fire arms are concerned, it's the mandatory death sentence for those found guilty. Most of those sent to the gallows were drug traffickers - the "low ranking drug mules who are the easiest to apprehend", as said by former Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee.  Many agree to that. 

 

The Karpal biography tells us death penalty for drug trafficking became mandatory in  April 1983 and the Malaysian government then helmed by Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad was praised in 1985 by the UN International Narcotics Control Board for its efforts to curb drug trafficking.

 

In his biography we are also told that Karpal "genuinely sympathised with his government in its stringent efforts to clamp down on the illegal drug trade but he did not see well published weekly hangings as the answer to the problem".

 

To him the mandatory death sentence was no deterrent. Obviously he's still holding on to that stand. As recent as last year, Karpal – in his capacity as MP for Bukit Gelugor – had  asked in parliament then Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, if the tough laws carrying capital punishment had been effective in reducing drug related crime.

 

Based on Hishamuddin's written reply, the mandatory death sentence has not stopped drug dealers.

 

Also last year, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz then minister in the PM's department went on record to say the government was looking into the possibility of withdrawing mandatory death sentence of drug offences, replacing it with jail terms.

 

One of the main reasons, said Nazri, was there were close to 250 Malaysians arrested as drug mules and sentenced to death abroad.

 

"It is difficult to justify our appeal to these countries not to hang them when our own country has the mandatory death sentence," said Nazri as quoted in the media.

 

Now there is at least one Malaysian, arrested and sentenced to death abroad who have escaped the gallows. And it wasn't because of our appeals.

 

Yes, by now we all know of Yong Vui Kong, the Malaysian, who was spared the hangman's noose after being on death row in Singapore since 2009 for drug trafficking.

 

The Singapore government had last year announced changes to the mandatory death penalty, allowing death row inmates to be given a lighter sentence if they met certain conditions.

 

And Yong became the first "beneficiary" of the amendment. He now will serve a life prison sentence and given 15 strokes of the rotan. 

 

So based on what Singapore has done should Malaysia follow suit?

 

Yes, said DAP's Liew Chin Tong - pointing out that the Singapore court, in Yong's case, had acknowledged that "mandatory death sentence is considered a cruel, degrading and inhuman punishment" and as such "it is time this is also recognised by the Malaysian court". 

 

Liew wants the Malaysian government to emulate Singapore and amend our laws to allow discretionary sentencing in cases of mandatory death sentences with a long term view to abolish the death penalty.

 

In fact, in January this year, the Office for Human Development of the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese had launched a signature campaign for the death penalty be repealed in Malaysia.

 

Anyway back to Liew, for now, he wants the government to make good "its promise of October 2012" referring to the remarks made by Nazri who was then de facto law minister. But a fellow Malaysian who goes by the name CG Tiong wrote a letter to The Star newspaper recently to say: 'Don't repeal mandatory death sentence'.

 

Tiong viewed the DAP man's call "a misplaced and misconstrued plea supposedly on humanity grounds".

 

As Tiong sees it, those sentenced to mandatory death are criminals who "have caused countless deaths and tremendous hardship on families of victims" - going to write "all the do gooders clamouring for the removal of mandatory death sentence are idealists and have never suffered as victims in the hands of criminals".

 

CG Tiong ended the letter by saying "don't let misplaced sympathy and misplaced humanity cloud our judgment".

 

So where do we go from here?

 

A classic case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't", perhaps? 

 

 

Mohsin Abdullah is a specialist writer at fz.com. He likes rojak. And nasi campur. And durians. Perhaps that’s why he writes about this, that and everything else. Pretty much rojak and nasi campur. As for his writings, well, they can be like durians. Aromatic and delicious to some people, smelly and off-putting to others. - fz.com, 19/11/2013, Is it time to 'retire' the hangman?

 

Bar and Suhakam want the Government to abolish the mandatory death penalty

Published: Sunday December 1, 2013 MYT 9:00:00 AM
Updated: Sunday December 1, 2013 MYT 9:17:41 AM

Malaysians believe in death penalty, but not willing to mete it out, survey shows

by shaila koshy

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians believe in the death penalty but do not want to impose it - even on perpetrators of the most serious crimes.

This seemingly contradictory attitude was among the findings of a recent study by the Death Penalty Project (DPP) on the mandatory death sentence in Malaysia for murder, drug trafficking and Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) Act offences.

According to the public opinion survey, Malaysians prefer incarceration, either jail without parole, or an indeterminate life sentence with consideration of parole, or a determinate period of years.

The Malaysian Bar and Suhakam want the Government to abolish the mandatory death penalty or, in the interim, give judges the discretion to impose capital punishment.

Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam.

 

Bar president Christopher Leong and Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam are making this call again in light of the survey findings and the high number of recommendations the Government received on the matter from United Nations member states on Oct 24 during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council (HRC). 

The Government has until March to tell HRC whether it will accept the recommendations. 

As at June 2013, a total of 964 Malaysians have been sentenced to death for crimes for murder, terrorism-related offences, drug trafficking, robbery with firearms and firearms possession, kidnapping, and treason.

While the number of firearms offences are increasing, Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye had noted in July that the death sentence had not deterred the drug trade.

According to the Federal Narcotics Department, 85,500 people, including foreigners, were arrested for drug-related offences in the first half of 2013 and the seized drugs were valued at RM48.11mil, almost double the amount for the same period last year.

Its statistics show more than 190 Malaysians were arrested overseas for being drug mules since 2011, some in countries like China and Indonesia which also impose the death penalty.

In July last year, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said Malaysia might follow Singapore’s move to abolish the mandatory death penalty for drug couriers.

He said they were researching whether to give judges the discretion of imposing it and also to re-sentence those on death row to life sentences.

Yong Vui Kong.

 

Because of the amendments in Singapore, Sabahan Yong Vui Kong escaped the gallows with life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane at a re-sentencing on Nov 14.

Leong said in an interview that the call from the international community at the UPR was supported by the door-to-door survey of 1,535 Malaysian citizens between Nov 8, 2012 and Dec 28.

Bar president Christopher Leong.

“The findings, launched in July, show there would be little public opposition to the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for the three offences.

“A large majority favoured the death penalty, whether mandatory or discretionary - 91% for murder, 74-80% for drug trafficking depending on the drug, and 83% for firearms offences.

“But when presented with 12 ‘scenario’ cases, only 1.2 persons in 100 thought it was the appropriate punishment.”

Hasmy, who had attended Leong’s briefing for parliamentarians on Nov 14, said the findings showed Malaysians were not in favour of mandatory death sentences and preferred giving judges the discretion.

Leong said the Bar advocated the abolition of the death penalty on the belief that every individual has the inherent right to life as guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.

“Guilty persons ought to receive punishment but that is not the same as saying that they ought to die.

“The death penalty is a reflection of the notion that ‘an eye for an eye’ provides the best form of justice but this is a concept we should not embrace nor practise today, bearing in mind there is still no criminal justice system in place which is foolproof.”

As a result of the growing political and public debate here on whether the mandatory sentence should be abolished completely or retained and used only in the gravest of circumstances, Leong said, the DPP, a leading international human rights organisation, commissioned Prof Emeritus Roger Hood - an eminent criminologist from Oxford University - to design, analyse and report on the findings of the large-scale public opinion survey on the mandatory death penalty for the three said offences here.

The research was carried out by Ipsos Malaysia, a market research company. - The Star, 1/12/2013, Malaysians believe in death penalty, but not willing to mete it out, survey shows

Malaysians want Judges to decide whether to impose Death Penalty or not

In Malaysia, there are laws that gives no choices to judges when it comes to sentencing, and even though the circumstances may not warrant a death penalty, judges have no choice but to sentence the convicted person to death - this is known as the mandatory death penalty, and it is now the sentenced imposed for offences like murder, drug trafficking, etc... In many cases, there is no death or injury to any victim at all, but since the law only provides for death penalty, many are sentenced to be hung by their neck till they die...

A recent survey amongst Malaysians indicate that Malaysians no longer want the mandatory death penalty - and wants the law to give judges the discretion to sentence a person to death or to some other sentence like imprisonment(with or without whipping), etc depending on the facts and circumstances of each and every case...

Published: Monday December 2, 2013 MYT 10:30:00 AM
Updated: Monday December 2, 2013 MYT 12:04:42 AM

Let judges choose

by shaila koshy

KUALA LUMPUR: Judges should be allowed to use their discretion in whether to impose the death sentence as Malaysians have demonstrated that they prefer the death sentence to be discretionary.

This was the finding of the Death Penalty Project (DPP) survey that was carried out in association with the Bar Council end of 2012, with results released in July.
 
Malaysian were polled on how they would mete out punishment for a few hypothetical capital cases, where the death sentence is mandatory upon conviction.
 
A shift to discretionary sentencing, all the way to the total abolition of the death penalty, is supported by the findings of the survey which sampled 1,535 Malaysian citizens.
 
The study found there was little public support for a mandatory death penalty to be imposed upon those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, and certain non-fatal firearms offences.
 
As reported by the Sunday Star, the survey as well as the high number of recommendations from the United Nations during its Universal Periodic Review form the basis for the Malaysian Bar and Suhakam’s calls to the Government to abolish the mandatory death penalty, or to give judges the discretion whether to impose it.

In an email to The Star, Emeritus Prof Roger Hood of Oxford University, who analysed the findings of the survey, said the respondents’ had considerably lower support for both, for the death penalty in general and the mandatory death penalty in particular, when asked what the sentence should be for a number of “scenarios” typical of crimes that appear in court.

“When judging cases of murder, the highest proportion to choose death as the most appropriate penalty was 65% for a recidivist robber who shot a storekeeper in the head; and in one case of domestic murder only 14% chose death.

“Of the 56% who favoured the mandatory death sentence for murder only one in seven thought the death penalty was the right sentence for all the murder cases they were asked to judge; the majority used their discretion to fit the punishment to the circumstances of the crime.

“Only one in 12 citizens (8%) of the total sample favoured the mandatory death sentence for murder when they were asked to judge real cases,” said Prof Hood, former Director of the Centre for Criminological Research at All Souls College.

In cases of drug trafficking, he said the highest proportion choosing the death penalty was 29% and that this was for attempting to smuggle 25kg of heroin into the country.

He said that only 1 in 12 respondents thought death was the correct penalty for all the drug trafficking cases they judged.

And in the scenario of a burglar shooting and wounding a householder, only 20% chose death as the appropriate sentence, he added.

“When we analysed the sentences imposed on all 12 cases, only just over one in a 100 (1.2%) would have sentenced all of them to death.”

Taken as a whole, Prof Hood said the majority of Malaysian citizens favoured a discretionary death penalty for murder, and only a minority favoured use of the death penalty at all when presented with typical cases of drug trafficking and non-fatal firearms offences. - The Star, 2/12/2013, Let judges choose

* Also can be found in the Malaysian Bar website

See also earlier post:  

Survey reveals Malaysians against mandatory death penalty ..in fact are for abolition of death penalty

  TEST your attitude to the mandatory death penalty that exists currently for murder, drug trafficking and Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act offences.

Would you choose the death penalty in the next four of the 12 scenarios devised by Prof Roger Hood of Oxford University for the Death Penalty Project survey in Malaysia?

Compare your answers with the results of the 1,535 Malaysians who took part in the survey.

Case 5: Robbery Murder

'A man robbed a local shop with a gun and killed the owner by shooting him in the head. He took away with him RM800 cash. He had not previously been convicted of any crime.'

Case 6: Robbery Murder

'A man robbed a local shop with a gun and killed the owner by shooting him in the head. He took away with him RM800 cash. He had previously been in prison twice for robbery.'

Case 7: Domestic Murder

'A woman deliberately poisoned her husband, who died, so that she could be free to live with her lover.'

Case 8: Domestic Murder

'A woman, who had been abused by her husband for many years, decided to kill him by deliberately poisoning his food. A neighbour discovered the death of the husband and reported it to the police.'