Media Statement –
3/11/2012
Call for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Malaysia
We, the undersigned 78 groups and organisations welcome
Malaysia’s move towards the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for drug
offences, and replacing it with jail terms.
Recently, the Minister in the
Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz stated that Malaysia is
considering withdrawing the mandatory death sentence for drug offences and
replacing it with jail terms.(Star,21/10/2012, Death penalty may
be scrapped for drug offences). He also said he
will be moving the Malaysian Cabinet to defer the death sentences passed on 675
convicted drug traffickers in the country, while the government reviews the
death penalty for drug offences. (The Straits Times, 25/10/2012, Death knell for death penalty in
Malaysia?) This follows the statement in July 2012, when Attorney-General
Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said that his Chambers was working towards proposing
an amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 to give judges the discretion of
not imposing death sentences on couriers(Malay Mail, 12/7/2012, M’sia mulls
scrapping death penalty for drug couriers). In its 2009 Universal
Periodic Review report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Malaysia also
did declare that it was proposing to
amend "existing anti-drug trafficking legislation to reduce the maximum
sentence to life imprisonment" from the currently practised mandatory
death.
Most of the 675 persons on
death row for drug trafficking today are "drug mules", some of whom
may have even been conned. Drug kingpins are rarely caught. In Malaysia,
persons caught with a certain weight of drugs are presumed to be drug
traffickers, and the onerous burden of rebutting this presumption shifts to the
accused person. This goes against the norm in the criminal justice system,
where the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is guilty
is on the prosecution. There are also close to 250 Malaysians arrested as
drug mules and sentenced to death abroad, including in China and Singapore, and
Malaysia’s plea for clemency is inconsistent if it retains the death penalty.
In March 2012, it was also
revealed in Parliament by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein that the mandatory
death penalty has been shown to have failed to act as a deterrent. Police
statistics for the arrests of drug dealers under Section 39B of the Dangerous
Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty, for the past three
years (2009 to 2011) have shown an increase. In 2009, there were 2,955 arrested
under this section. In 2010, 3,700
people were arrested, whilst in 2011, there were 3,845 arrested.(Free Malaysia Today News, 19/3/2012, Death penalty not deterring drug
trade)
69%(or 479) of the 696 waiting for
execution of their death sentences in Malaysian prisons as on Feb 22, 2011, were
for drug offences. Today, there are about 900 on death row.
No legal system in the world is
foolproof or error-free. There have been many examples of cases of miscarriage
of justice, where innocent persons have been incarcerated for many years, or
even sentenced to death. The opportunity to right a wrong is, however, not
available since death is irreversible.
SUHAKAM (Malaysian Human Rights
Commission) has also called on Malaysia to join the
other 140 UN member states to
completely abolish the death penalty. The
United Nations General Assembly
have also adopted Resolutions
in 2007, 2008 and 2010
calling for a moratorium on executions, with a view to eventually
abolishing the death penalty.
Malaysia has begun commuting
death sentence, whereby 5 Filipinos on death row had their sentenced commuted to
prison terms earlier this year.
We call for the abolition of the
death penalty in Malaysia, for an immediate moratorium on all executions
pending abolition and for the commutation of the sentences of all persons
currently on death row;
We also call on Malaysia to
ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR).
Charles Hector
For and on behalf of the 78 groups/organisations listed
below
ALIRAN (Aliran Kesedaran
Negara), Malaysia
Aksi - For Gender, Social And Ecological Justice, Indonesia.
Amnesty International
Malaysia
Amnesty International
Philippines
Amnesty International
Thailand
Anti-Death Penalty Asia
Network (ADPAN)
Advocacy and Policy
Institute (API), Cambodia
Arus Pelangi, Indonesia
Asia Indigenous Peoples
Pact, Thailand
Cambodian Defenders
Project (CDP)
Cambodian Human Rights
Action Committee (CHRAC)
Cambodian Human Rights and
Development Association (ADHOC)
Cambodian Volunteers for
Society (CVS)
Catholic Lawyers Society,
Malaysia
Center for Human Rights
Law Studies (HRLS), Faculty of Law, Airlangga University, Surabaya
Center for Human Rights of
Islamic University of Indonesia
Center
for Indonesian Migrant Workers(CIMW)
Civil Rights Committee
KLSCAH (KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall), Malaysia
Civil Society Committee of
LLG Cultural Development Centre, Malaysia
Community Action Network
(CAN), Malaysia
FORLITAN (Forum
Perlindungan Pertanahan), Indonesia
Foundation for Women
Garment and Allied Workers
Union, India
Housing Rights Task Force,
Cambodia
Human Rights Ambassador
for Salem-News.com
Human Rights Working Group
(HRWG) Indonesia
IMPARSIAL - The Indonesian
Human Rights Monitor
IMA Research Foundation,
Bangladesh
Indonesian Coalition for
Drug Policy Reform (ICDPR)
Indonesia for Humans
Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute (LBH Jakarta)
Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas
(JERIT), Malaysia
Kesatuan Pekerja Pekerja Polyplastics
Asia Pacific (KPPAP), Malaysia
KIARA (The People's
Coalition for Fisheries Justice) / Indonesia
Knights for Peace
International
Lawyers for Liberty,
Malaysia
LSPP (Institute For Press
And Devolepment) Indonesia
MADPET (Malaysians Against
Death Penalty and Torture)
Malaysians for Beng Hock
Migrant CARE -Indonesia
Migrant CARE – Malaysia
Migrante International
NAMM (Network of Action
for Migrants in Malaysia)
National League for
Democracy (Liberated Area) Malaysia
Parti Rakyat Malaysia
(PRM)
People's Union for Civil
Liberties (PUCL), India
PERGERAKAN INDONESIA
Persatuan Kesedaran
Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER)
Persatuan Masyarakat
Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS), Malaysia
Persatuan Sahabat Wanita
Selangor (PSWS), Malaysia
PINAY (The Filipino
Women's Organization in Quebec), Canada
Pusat Komunikasi
Masyarakat (Komas), Malaysia
Save Vui Kong Campaign,
Malaysia
Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia
[SABM]
Sedane Labour Resouce
Centre/Lembaga Informasi Perburuhan Sedane (LIPS), Indonesia
Seksualiti Merdeka,
Malaysia
Singapore Anti Death
Penalty Campaign (SADPC)
Solidaritas Perempuan -
Indonesia
SUARAM, Malaysia
Serikat Buruh Migran
Indonesia (SBMI)
Sibuyan Island Sentinels
League for Environment Inc. (Sibuyan ISLE)
Tenaganita, Malaysia
Thai Committee for
Refugees Foundation (TCR)
Think Centre, Singapore
Quê Me: Action for
Democracy in Vietnam
Vietnam Committee on Human
Rights
WAC (Workers Assistance
Center), Philippines
We believe in Second
Chances, Singapore
WH4C (Workers Hub For
Change)
Women's Aid Organisation
(WAO)
Woman
Health Philippines
Writers Alliance for Media
Independence (WAMI), Malaysia
Yayasan Lintas Nusa -
Batam, Indonesia
New Endorsers:
Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human
Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia
Free Legal Assistance Group, National Capital Region,
Philippines(FLAG)
Hong Kong Joint Committee for the Abolition of the Death
Penalty
Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Malaysia
Women's Centre for Change, Malaysia
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