Govt writes to S'pore as groups urge intervention in M'sian's execution
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah has sent a letter to his counterpart in Singapore, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, in regard to the case involving Malaysian death row inmate Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam.
This came as civil societies and the public pleaded for the commutation of the death sentence of Nagaenthran, who is to be executed next Wednesday in Singapore.
“I have received a letter from...
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah has sent a letter to his counterpart in Singapore, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, in regard to the case involving Malaysian death row inmate Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam.
This came as civil societies and the public pleaded for the commutation of the death sentence of Nagaenthran, who is to be executed next Wednesday in Singapore.
“I have received a letter from Anti Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan) through Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, who notified me of the execution and asked the Foreign Ministry to raise the case with the Singaporean government.
“As such, I have sent a letter to the Singaporean foreign minister in regard to the case.
“The Malaysian High Commission in Singapore, under the Foreign Ministry, will continue to monitor the case and provide appropriate consular assistance to Mr Nagaenthran and his family,” Saifuddin said in a statement this morning.
Saifuddin’s statement came just hours after about two dozen civil societies and groups today lobbied Parliament to intervene in Nagaenthran’s case.
The groups gathered at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur this morning and marched towards Parliament’s entrance around 9.30am to hand in a memorandum.
Police were seen guarding the main road leading to Parliament Hill, and the groups gathered near the roadblock to wait for Parliament officials to meet them.
The memorandum was received by Luqman Refid, the private secretary to Minister in the Prime Minister Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
'Moral responsibility'
Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto (DAP), who issued a statement on Nagaenthran yesterday, arrived and met with the groups around 10am.
Speaking to the media, Kasthuri repeated her call for the Malaysian government to intervene in Nagaenthran’s case and urged Singapore to stop the execution.
“Please don’t forget that Nagaenthran is a member of the Malaysian family.
“We beg the Singaporean government to not execute him on Nov 10, and we beg our government to intervene.
“It is a moral responsibility. He’s a Malaysian who is on death row and is mentally unstable,” she said.
Kasthuri said that there is no doubt Nagaenthran committed a crime but it would be cruel to execute an intellectually challenged person.
Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik also came and met with the group but he did not speak to the media.
Nagaenthran was convicted in the island republic for trafficking in 42.27gm of heroin and the courts in Singapore had upheld his death sentence despite repeated appeals.
His defence team argued that Nagaenthran has an IQ of 69, lower than the average human IQ of 85-115, and thus his mental judgment was significantly impaired.
“We’re not asking for him to be freed, we’re merely asking to commute his death penalty to a life sentence,” Kasthuri explained.
She added that while she has not met Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to discuss the case, she will be sending a letter to the European Union office and Singapore High Commission.
Adpan: Hope govt can do more than just communicate
Responding to Saifuddin’s statement, Adpan executive director Dobby Chew said they were glad that the ministry had taken on the case.
“We hope the minister can do more than just communicate with the Singapore government.
“We understand that the diplomatic engagement between Malaysia and Singapore can be very sensitive, but this is an egregious breach of international law and it should be seen as such,” he told Malaysiakini via a phone call.
Chew, alongside others from Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) and Gerakan Guaman Rakyat (Gegar) who were present at the Parliament entrance this morning, argued that executing an intellectually challenged person goes against the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Disabled Persons, of which Singapore is a signatory.
LFL member Mahajoth Singh also chimed in during the group’s memorandum handover and said that it is inhumane for the republic’s government to go ahead with the execution.
“No person should be at the receiving end of execution, what more an intellectually disabled man.
“It breaches international laws, it breaches laws of humanity,” Mahajoth said, reiterating the groups’ stance to oppose any form of the death penalty.
Yesterday, lawyers from the Malaysian Bar also submitted their memorandum letter pleading for Nagaenthran’s life at the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
Nagaenthran’s family recently spoke to Malaysiakini and had asked the Singaporean government to show some compassion and spare his life.
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