Everyone deserves a second chance

FILM REVIEW | In 2021, Freedom Film Network (FFN) saw its office in Petaling Jaya, along with the home of cartoonist Amin Landak, raided by cops over a nearly four-minute documentary, ‘Chilli Powder and Thinner’.

Detailing the heartbreaking tale of alleged torture and abuse suffered by three boys told from the perspective of one victim, it was a short but impactful animated piece on police brutality. So much so that it solicited a reaction from the authorities, that’s for sure.

The short film was a collaboration between human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) and FFN, and was directed by Suaram programme director Mohammad Alshatri Abdullah.

This year, Alshatri returned to the silver screen of the Freedom Film Festival - which took place earlier this month - with a new documentary called ‘Peluang Kedua’ (Second Chance), which follows the tale of death row prisoner P Pannir Selvam seeking to give back to society from behind bars.

For the uninitiated, Pannir founded welfare group Sebaran Kasih (Spread Love Malaysia) with the help of his family who has admirably advocated against the death penalty.

This follows Pannir's 2014 arrest at Woodlands Checkpoint, Singapore, for trafficking 51.84g of diamorphine (heroin) into the island state.

The Singapore High Court convicted him on June 27, 2017.

The Ipoh-born inmate’s appeal for clemency was rejected two years later, along with his application for a Certificate of Substantive Assistance (CSA). This was despite his cooperation with the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) of Singapore.

According to the film, the family had been told that this was the case as the bureau had not used the exact information given by Pannir to catch the culprit they were after.

A CSA allows inmates the chance to commute their death sentences to life imprisonment in exchange for handing the CNB information on drug activities.

His lawyers had then requested documents to aid his case, but the discovery application was dismissed by the Singapore High Court.

Following his clemency rejection, Pannir was scheduled for execution on May 24 but was granted a stay one day prior when his lawyers stepped in to represent him.

They successfully argued that he had the right to legal advice to challenge the clemency rejection.

Since obtaining the stay, Pannir’s family has initiated a campaign to save him from death row, while he has started writing letters from prison to the public.

In ‘Peluang Kedua’, we are shown that Pannir was an ordinary guy from Ipoh who loved music. From his cell in Changi Prison, he now writes songs on peace and love appreciated by many, seeking forgiveness for himself and others stuck in similar circumstances.

He is a symbol of the many who fall victim to the vicious socio-economic cycle that traps drug mules across the Causeway - and in truth, it can happen to any one of us.

In November 2021, Sebaran Kasih questioned why a seemingly large proportion of Malaysians on death row through Singapore’s judiciary system appeared to be of Indian ethnicity.

"Our list of Malaysians who are on death row in Changi Prison shows that six out of seven names are of Indian ethnicity - namely K Datchinamurrthy, Kalwant Singh Jogindar Singh, Y Tamilselvam, Pannir, S Saminathan and Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam. The seventh is Rahmat Karimon.

"This begs the question - is this a result of institutional racism, socioeconomic inequality, or another undiscovered factor?" they had told Malaysiakini.

‘Peluang Kedua’ should be of interest to campaigners against the death penalty and all who are unaware of the trauma faced by the families with incarcerated relatives - communicating by letters and occasional visits, wondering what could have gone differently, hoping to see their loved one outside of prison walls.

Pannir’s sisters Angelia and Sangkari continue to endure endless commuting when visiting their brother in Changi Prison, taking overnight coaches from Ipoh and arriving in Singapore as day breaks.

Despite all of this, it is hard for a critic to laud an artwork - whatever the medium - that explores a subject they feel strongly about when it is executed poorly.

This is a film that is worth taking note of, raising awareness about the fantastic work Sebaran Kasih is doing for death row inmates and their families as well as the inner workings of a family placed in a situation that no one could ever imagine themselves being in.

Its execution, however, is disappointingly pedestrian and makes it hard to recommend wholeheartedly - with its choppy editing, sluggish pacing, and the backing music thrown in at the wrong count on certain sentimental moments.

It may be hard to follow a film like ‘Chilli Powder and Thinner’ but in the end, I am a big believer that all of us, including the documentary ‘Peluang Kedua’, deserve a second chance.

‘Peluang Kedua’ will soon be available on YouTube.

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