Karpal locks horns with Nik Aziz over baby dumping

DAP chairperson and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh appears to be at loggerheads with PAS spiritual adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat over the issue of baby dumping.

Saying that the Kelantan MB’s opinion is too harsh, Karpal ( left ) says that more should instead be done to study the root cause of the phenomenon.

“I am somewhat disturbed by the statement of Nik Aziz, who not only supports the use of capital punishment for those found guilty of dumping babies but has also asked for those committing illicit sex to be stoned to death.

“Nik Aziz should realise we do not live in primitive times. In the present time and age, the punishment of stoning to death, which is a cruel and unjust punishment, does not, and cannot have a place,” he said in a statement.

Karpal, who is also a veteran lawyer, said that people should stop baying for the death penalty for those convicted of baby-dumping.

“What is required is an in-depth study of the reasons which lead to what has become a topic of grave concern... what has to be looked at with the eye of a hawk is not the symptoms, but the cause, before resorting to cries for the death penalty,” he said.

Karpal is known to be an opponent of the death penalty, but had recently made an exception with child rapists.

The veteran lawyer last month called on the Penal Code to be amended to provide for death penalty for child rapists, following several recent prominent cases of sexual assault involving young children.

Royal commission needed

In the meantime, Karpal also called for a royal commission of enquiry to look into the causes of the rise in the cases of abandoned babies and to recommend measures to deal with this situation.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil ( right ) had previously called for cases of baby dumping to be filed as attempted murder or murder cases.

According to the Penal Code, anyone convicted of murder carries a mandatory death sentence.

Shahrizat’s statement sparked mixed reception from several NGOs and politicians, with some calling the punishment too harsh, and others welcoming the stiffer penalties.