THE death penalty is not actually a subject that is alien to me. I believe I must have written on capital punishment several times over the past decade or so.
My stand is this and it remains the same to this day. I advocate that the death penalty stays; just don’t let it be mandatory. Allow the judge to use his discretion whether to impose the capital punishment or not.
I would also agree that the sentences of those currently on death row be reviewed.
Like many, I have argued in the past that the mandatory death penalty for drug offenders, for example, was cruel and might not necessarily be an effective deterrent.
The issue had also created diplomatic rows. While we hanged Australian drug offenders, we also appealed for clemency for our own citizens on death row in Singapore. Each of those cases was tricky and complicated for even the most brilliant envoy to resolve.
On Monday, April 2, the Dewan Rakyat passed sweeping legal reforms to remove the mandatory death penalty, trim the number of offences punishable by death, and abolish natural-life prison sentences.
Malaysia has had a moratorium on executions since 2018, when it first promised to abolish capital punishment entirely.
In case some are unsure of what the amendments meant, be informed of one key factor – the death penalty stays. But the courts are allowed to replace it with other punishments at their discretion.
This is what I had advocated and I hope that my fellow Malaysian are also happy and contented with the changes.
Nevertheless, the views of those who had consistently called for the death penalty to be abolished altogether should also be respected.
Under the amendments passed on Monday, alternatives to the death penalty include whipping and imprisonment of between 30 to 40 years. The new jail term will replace all previous provisions that call for imprisonment for the duration of the offender’s natural life.
Capital punishment will also be removed as an option for some serious crimes that do not cause death, such as discharging and trafficking of a firearm and kidnapping, according to the new measures.
Under the mandatory death penalty abolishment bill, judges still have the discretion to sentence those convicted of murder to hang.
However, judges may also choose to hand down an alternative sentence of 30 to 40 years imprisonment and whipping.
In 2018, I had also advocated an additional crime for the death penalty – corruption. I wrote then:
“Political leaders who are excessively corrupt and have stolen from the state and people, causing misery and suffering to others in the process, should also be sent to the gallows.
“We can all agree that even the death penalty will not get rid of corruption. Neither would it put a stop to smuggling, murder, robbery with firearms and other heinous crimes”.
Why, in China, those found guilty of corruption, including high-ranking officials, are publicly executed. Well, that’s President Xi Jinping’s no-nonsense war against corruption. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim could perhaps follow suit as he is also determined to see that his anti-graft crusade succeeds.
Another major security issue which we need to tackle with capital punishment is terrorism.
There are Malaysians who are involved in terrorist cells, both at home and abroad. These questions must be asked. Who funded them? Especially those who have been in the country for several years with their activities having gone undetected?
When Malaysian terrorists were killed in Indonesia, Philippines, Iraq and Syria, did any of us shed a tear for them? Would we cry for an Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Idi Amin and Pol Pot if they were sentenced to death?
Terrorists caught in Malaysia for activities detrimental to national security should be dealt with severely, including the use of capital punishment.
It is for this reason that I stand firm on the premise that the death penalty must never be abolished in Malaysia.
As I reaffirm that, I will end here in the same way I signed off every time I wrote about the death penalty.
“I’m not sorry for sounding cruel and being out of place by asking that the death penalty stays. It’s not that some people deserve to die, it’s just that some people do not deserve to live.”
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
