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FACULTY OPINION PIECE Issue no. 2 | 2022
FACULTY OPINION PIECE
The End of Mandatory Death Penalty

By Dr Choong Pui Yee
In June 2022, the Department of Southeast Asian Studies
Malaysian government and financial capital to make an appeal in the court of law.
announced the Apart from the poor, people who are mentally ill tend to be
abolishment of the easy targets. A case in point is Nagaenthran K.
mandatory death penalty. Dharmalingam, a Malaysian who was executed by the
This announcement has Singaporean government. The victim who was mentally
earned some applause from disabled was found smuggling 42.7 grams of heroin to
Ithe proponents and supporters of human rights. Singapore in 2009. Victims like Nagaenthran may not be
Nevertheless, it does not mean that crimes that are able to fully comprehend the severity of their crimes. What
punishable by death such as drug trafficking, terrorism, is worse is that victims like him may be tricked or coerced
murder, kidnapping, and possession of firearms are to smuggle drugs.
altogether eliminated. Instead, it means that judges are
now allowed to choose to impose either the death penalty While there is no denying that drug smuggling is a crime,
or other forms of punishment – an option they did not have executing these offenders does not really truly address
in the past. However, before the law can take effect, law the issue of drug trafficking because drug warlords could
amendments must be first passed through voting in the always find other innocent and helpless people to do their
parliament’s lower and upper houses. While this is a bidding while they evade the risk of being arrested.
significant step forward on the human rights front, there are Hence, justice is not truly served. What is worse is that
existing questions that need to be answered, such as; what people like Nagaenthran himself were victimized twice –
are the alternatives to the death penalty, and what are the to fully bear the crime of others who were involved and to
barriers to abolishing the death penalty? be executed.

The mandatory death penalty is a cruel and inhumane On the other hand, there is a serious need to consider
punishment that breaches human rights. Specific examples whether Malaysian society is ready to take this step
of execution methods across the world include beheading, forward. Families of murder victims are unlikely to
lethal injection, hanging, and shooting. According to the welcome the abolishment of the death penalty. It is simply
Death Penalty Information Center, more than 70% of the too much to expect the bereaved to accept the notion of
world’s countries have either abolished or ceased to mercy over justice. Instead, it is only fair for them to expect
practice capital punishment. As recent as 2021, Malaysia an eye for an eye. There is also a need to consider if the
was still executing criminals by hanging them. Existing wider society has truly understood the rationale for the
criminals who are sentenced to the death penalty prior to abolishment. In a multicultural and multireligious society
the government’s announcement will still be subject to like Malaysia, religious beliefs, and differences in
capital punishment. traditional ideals may sometimes make it difficult for some
to welcome the abolishment of the death penalty. This is
It is important to note that there are a few key arguments because people may have different measures to evaluate
against the death penalty. First, is because it is irreversible. justice. Some may believe that criminals do not deserve
No matter how low the rate of error is in any investigation, any mercy and that eliminating them is for the betterment
the probability of new evidence can not be discounted. of the general society. In other words, the notion of human
And when new evidence is revealed much later, it will be should be enjoyed only by law-abiding civilians.
too late to reverse the execution of a person’s life. Second,
the death penalty does not truly prevent crimes. There have Therefore, steps towards the abolishment of the death
been studies that show that the death penalty does not penalty are hindered by several barriers and more
truly serve as a deterrence. Third, the death penalty can be concerted efforts are needed to inform the public about
used as a tool of control rather than justice. For example, the rationale for the abolishment.To be sure, it would be
non-lethal crimes like drug-related offenses are punishable impossible to convince everyone that the change in lawis
by death in Malaysia. But oftentimes, it is the less- a step forward for the country, but it does not excuse the
threatening offenders that are arrested and punished rather need to create more awareness and discussions among
than the powerful drug warlords. This leads us to the next the public. At the end of the day, all of us would have a
point - the death penalty disproportionately affects the different scale of justice. And it is precisely because of this,
poor. The poor are often an easy target for the police. They that more discussion in the public discourse is needed.
cannot afford legal services and may not have the social Justice has to be served but it has to be fair as well.

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