KUALA LUMPUR: Members of Parliament urge the government to postpone the execution of a Malaysian man in Singapore scheduled for this Thursday (20th February).
Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) urged the Malaysian government to intervene by requesting a stay of execution for Pannir Selvam and allowing him to return to Malaysia to facilitate further investigations.
“While we fully support the efforts of the Malaysian Government, like Singapore, which takes the drug menace in the country seriously.
“We oppose the use of the death penalty on drug mules who are themselves victims in the million-dollar transactions by syndicates that are roaming free,” he said during a press conference on Monday here (Feb 17)
On Sept 4, 2014, Pannir Selvam was stopped by officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore and found with packets of heroin weighing 51.84g.
Pannir was convicted on June 27, 2017, by the Singapore High Court for trafficking drugs and was sentenced to death.
Under Singaporean law, smuggling more than 15g of heroin is a capital offence.
Ramkarpal said that Pannir Selvam was a drug mule and ought not to be hanged, describing him as a ‘victim of circumstances’.
Angelia Pranthaman, who is Pannir’s sister, was also at the press conference and was visibly shaken and in tears as she spoke about receiving the letter regarding his execution on Sunday (Feb 16).
“All my family members have gone to Singapore to be with him. He is in a state of depression and despair because all his appeals have been rejected,” she said.
Ramkarpal said that the police had opened an investigation file, and Pannir could assist with the investigation into his recruiter, who handed him a package containing drugs 10 years ago.
“We hope that Pannir Selvam will be allowed to return to Malaysia to serve his sentence while providing information to facilitate investigations,” he said.
He referenced five Australians, one Filipino and one French national, who were all on death row in Indonesia for drug-related offences and were sent back to their respective countries to continue serving their sentences.
Present at the press conference were Subang Jaya MP Wong Chen, Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid, Batu MP Prabakaran Parameswaran and former Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto, along with human rights groups.
Amnesty International Malaysia said that the group is deeply concerned about the numerous violations of human rights safeguards present in Pannir’s case.
“He was sentenced to death for drug-related offences, which do not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” to which the use of this punishment must be restricted under international human rights law and standards,” it said in a statement on the same day.
