COMMENT There is no better time for our country to abolish the death penalty than the present predicament we face in trying to extradite one of the convicted murderers of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu from Australia.

Since the Australian government cannot bring itself to return someone to Malaysia where he will be facing the death penalty, why don’t we do the just and reasonable thing by doing away with the death penalty once and for all? In so doing, we can ensure that this other convicted killer of Altantuya faces justice in our country.

The most diabolical of murders

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits all forms of “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Capital punishment for murder offences has been abolished in Britain since 1965. Although the issue has been brought up periodically in the House of Commons, it has always been defeated.