Analysis: Asean Possible Last Hope For Malaysians On S’pore Death Row

Angelia Pranthaman sat quietly at the table, flanked by human rights activists. Occasionally, she’d dab at the tears rolling down her cheeks.

At the press conference organised by the Malaysian chapter of Amnesty International and Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), she and the activists were again appealing for public support and for the government to intervene on behalf of Malaysians on death row overseas, which includes her brother, Pannir Selvam. 

The 37-year-old is on death row in Changi Prison in Singapore, convicted of drug smuggling 51.84g of diamorphine, a form of heroin, in 2017. Having exhausted all legal recourse, his execution may come any day.

As Malaysia takes up the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, Angelia and others hope it will give Malaysia the impetus to intervene in Pannir’s and others’ cases. Both Malaysia and Singapore are founding members of ASEAN. 

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights have urged Malaysia to leverage its position to encourage members to rethink their use of the death penalty and work on its abolishment.

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Angelia appealed directly to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for help. 

“We are so weak right now and voiceless against the big power,” said Angelia.

“All I can say is: Please save my brother. He has done all he can and we have done all our best, so please save him.”

Other than Pannir, there are believed to be ten Malaysians on death row, most of whom are condemned to die for smuggling drugs into the city-state. Saving them would be a test of diplomacy and leadership.

But the question isn’t will it work? It will likely be, should we try? 

ZERO TOLERANCE

The death penalty for smuggling drugs into a country is common in this region. Malaysia used to punish drug traffickers, if found guilty of possessing a certain amount of various drugs, with death until the abolishment of the mandatory death penalty in 2023, which meant judges have the discretion to sentence traffickers with life imprisonment or death.

Unlike Malaysia, Singapore still punishes anyone who has a specific amount of drugs in their possession with death. By law, exceeding the amount is interpreted as intent to distribute or sell.  

Pannir exceeded the limit on heroin by 36.84g when he was arrested.

Singapore has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to corruption and drugs. And while its success in rooting out corruption has won the nation many accolades, it’s a different matter when it is their zero-tolerance approach on drugs which includes using the death penalty as a punishment and deterrent.

Despite condemnation from many quarters, Singapore remains a staunch supporter of the death penalty for drug offences, voting NO each time the United Nations puts forward a resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty for member states.

K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law, reportedly described the country’s war on drugs as an “existential battle,” and claimed any easing of the government’s stance would make things worse.

“In this war, we will have to decide: do we want to go soft, and risk ending up like the countries I have spoken about earlier (the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States)? Do we want to become a ‘narco-state’, or an ‘infamous brown town’, or a hotbed for drugs and violence?” he said in a statement to the parliament in May 2024.

With such rhetoric, it is no wonder that Malaysia’s previous efforts to advocate for their people on death row have failed. Most recently, Malaysia had requested clemency for Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam for being mentally deficient. Singapore rejected Malaysia’s entreaties and executed him in 2022. 

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SLIM TO NONE

Malaysia has also tried to intervene in Pannir’s case previously. In an interview with Singapore daily The Straits Times in May 2019, Shanmugam said Singapore could not make any exceptions for Pannir or any other Malaysians on death row as it would undermine the rule of law.

“It is not tenable to give a special moratorium to Malaysians, and impose it on everyone else, including Singaporeans who commit offences which carry the death penalty," he said to the daily.

He said that in 2018, Malaysians comprised almost 30 per cent of drug traffickers caught in Singapore. Malaysians too brought in nearly 30 per cent of the heroin seized in Singapore.

He added that one in five traffickers who brought in drugs above the minimum amount allowed by law was a Malaysian as well.

Subsequent statements from Shanmugam and rulings upholding the death penalty for Pannir and other death row inmates have not been encouraging. Trying to intervene again would likely be an exercise of futility. 

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However, experts on both sides of the border think attempting another appeal for clemency would be a worthwhile effort.

Former Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said Malaysia respected the judicial system in Singapore, but urged the government to try again.

“I think this is a fit and proper case for the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to intervene and get involved by taking more proactive steps. And I urge them to do so. But at the moment … to my knowledge, we have not seen any proactive steps, unfortunately,” he said.

Singaporean independent journalist and abolitionist Kirsten Han said while she was not asking any country to impose its will onto another, she believed, “Malaysia can, at the very least, advocate strongly for its own citizens on death row abroad.

“(Malaysia should) also continue to walk the talk by continuing down the path towards complete abolition of the death penalty,” she said in an email.

Human rights activist KasthuriraanPatto suggested Singapore allows foreign nationals on Singapore’s death row for drug offences be repatriated to their countries where they can serve the remainder of their sentence.

“Two Malaysian men held in Guantanamo Bay, who pled guilty as money couriers to support terrorist activities were released in December 2024 but will undergo comprehensive rehabilitation and an assessment process before reintegrating back into society. Surely the MADANI Government can apply the same principles in Pannir’s case,” she said at the press conference.

She also cited the case of Mary Jane Veloso, who had been sentenced to death for drug trafficking in 2010 in Indonesia, another founding ASEAN member. Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to a deal, which allowed the Philippine national to return home last month. She is now awaiting a pardon from the president.

SHAKY GROUND

Singapore officials often say that the death penalty for non-violent drug offences enjoy overwhelming support from the public, implying the government may be convinced to end the policies if the public were to stop supporting them. Officials often cite three studies the government did as evidence for the support.

InThe Straits Times interview, Shanmugam also said that the death penalty is imposed because  evidence shows that it serves as an effective deterrent.

“And we are not going to be deflected from doing the right thing for Singapore," he was quoted as saying. 

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Han, who is a member of the Singapore-based Transformative Justice Collective, cast doubt on the veracity of the studies.

“Most of the government’s findings are based on their own surveys, and they often make greater claims than what the survey results actually show. For example, they claim their results prove that the death penalty is a deterrence, but what the results actually show is that people believe the death penalty is a deterrence, which is not at all the same thing,” she said. 

She claimed that the Singaporean public was not well-informed about the death penalty and the war on drugs.

An analysis Mai Sato of Monash University did on the studies supported Han’s argument. She wrote that the findings may not be as strong as the government may claim.

For one thing, she found support for the death penalty often dropped once scenarios are applied to the questions. Malaysia’s research prior to abolishing mandatory death sentence also encountered the same phenomenon.

“The studies examined in this piece do not oblige the government to retain the death penalty. Based on Ministry of Home Affairs’ research, current evidence on the deterrent effect of the death penalty for drug trafficking is too weak to demonstrate its effectiveness.

“In addition, the Singaporean public does not appear to be clamouring for the retention of the death penalty for drug trafficking. Whom and what purpose the death penalty serves in Singapore remains unanswered,” she concluded.

Bernama spoke to several Singaporeans about putting drug mules to death. Ironically, few supported the use of the death penalty in non-violent drug cases although all supported capital punishment.

Singaporean ‘Fahmi’ told Bernama that he agreed with the government and supported the death penalty for all drug traffickers, even couriers, because of the damage drugs did to communities.

However, he said the threat of death did not really work as a deterrent as people would always be tempted to try for “money and luxurious, materialistic stuff.”

Others did not share the same view.  

One who asked to be identified as Edward said he thought that death should be reserved for only the worst crimes.

“I think the death penalty should be used in very limited cases, if at all, and certainly trafficking wouldn’t be something that falls under that,” he said via WhatsApp.

He added that the fact that people continue to attempt smuggling drugs into the republic for substantial financial gain, despite the death penalty, suggests that it is not a deterrent as the government claimed.

‘Maria’ concurred. Using an alias, she told Bernama that while she believed the death penalty may make some think twice about bringing or selling drugs in Singapore.

Both agreed that the government should rethink their approach to the issue of drug trafficking and re-evaluate the laws on death penalty for drug crimes.

In that case, the answer to the earlier question is yes, Malaysia should try to appeal to Singapore to save Pannir and the rest.

“After all, a life is a life,” Maria said.