Abolish the death sentence please!

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IT was some time during my term of office as a member of parliament, when Sim Kie Chon was sentenced to be hanged for a capital offence involving the possession of firearms.

Together with 14 other colleagues from the opposition DAP, I launched a hunger strike against his sentence. We fasted for 44 hours when the news came to us that his execution had been delayed. We called off the strike but eventually he was hanged anyway.

I have always been against the death sentence because I think that capital punishment is cruel and inhumane. But Malaysia is one of the few countries in Asia that believes in the execution of prisoners under the Dangerous Drugs Act and other serious offences.

My argument is very simple. Only God can take away our lives and no capital punishment is justifiable, no matter how grave the crime is.

On Oct 10, the world marks the World Day Against the Death Penalty. Last weekend, the Bar Council called for the abolishment of the death penalty. “The trend worldwide has been to abolish the death penalty, as the execution of human beings by the States serves as an ‘example of barbarity’ to society and legitimises the taking of human life. Malaysia is one of the 32 remaining countries in the world that still provides for the death penalty for drug-related offences.

“Out of these 32, 13 have the mandatory death penalty. Malaysia is one of them. In all Commonwealth countries, except Malaysia and Singapore, the mandatory death penalty has been declared to be a ‘cruel and unusual punishment’.”

Public opinion in Malaysia is probably divided on the death penalty. However, Malaysia remains one of the few countries in the world that insists on killing the criminal as a punishment for previous crimes. It has been shown that the death penalty has never been an effective deterrent against capital crimes such as murder. In the pursuit of justice, mistakes have been made and sometimes innocent prisoners have been killed. The execution of even one innocent prisoner is an unforgivable mistake.

The need to abolish the death penalty must be based ultimately on the respect that we human beings have for life as an inherent gift from God, which no one has the right to take away. Much of the support for capital punishment often quotes the biblical reference, “An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” However, that kind of punishment is based on a concept of law as a means of taking revenge.

Vengefulness should never be a part of the judicial process. The need for vengeance brings out the worst in humanity. The death penalty ought to be abolished and replaced by a lifelong sentence. That way no one is left with blood on his hands.

Most Western liberal states have now abolished the death sentence. But, the United States federal government and many states still allow capital punishment. Despite many dramatic turn of events in the United States, hundreds of prisoners are regularly executed in that country.

We live in a complicated world and the argument over capital punishment will continue for some time to come. But the universal trend has been for the abolishment of the death penalty all over the world.

I look forward to the day when the death penalty can be abolished in Malaysia as well for humanity’s sake.

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