[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Pada hari Ahad, 16 Februari, keluarga Pannir Selvam, warganegara Malaysia yang sedang menjalani hukuman mati di Singapura telah menerima notis hukuman mati yang akan berjalan pada hari Khamis, 20 Februari.
Pannir Selvam yang berumur 27 tahun telah ditahan di checkpoint Woodlands, Singapura pada tahun 2014. Beliau diberikan sebuah pakej oleh seorang warganegara Malaysia dengan sebuah bungkusan yang dikatakan mengandungi ubatan yang perlu diserahkan kepada seorang warga Singapura apabila sampai di sana.
Pannir selalunya telahpun menafikan dengan tegasnya bahawa beliau mempunyai pengetahuan bahawa bungkusan tersebut mengandungi 51g heroin dan telah ditahan di Singapura dan telah dikenakan hukuman mati pada tahun 2017, walaupun telah bekerjasama dan telah memberikan maklumat yang penting seperti nama, nombor MyKad, alamat rumah dan nombor telefon warga Malaysia yang telah merekrut dan memberikan jaminan tiada barangan yang menyalahi undang- undang di dalam milikannya.
Beliau juga telah memberikan maklumat berhubung warga Singapura yang telah digunakan oleh pihak polis Singapura untuk menahannya.
Walaupun Mahkamah Tinggi Singapura memutuskan bahawa Pannir Selvam didapati menghantar dadah di bawah Seksyen 33B(2)(a)(i) Misuse of Drugs Act, 1973, namun beliau tidak diberikan “certificate of substantive assistance”, iaitu satu pengiktirafan oleh pihak pendakwaraya di Singapura bahawa tertuduh telah bekerjasama untuk memberi maklumat penting dalam siasatan kes pengedaran dadah di Singapura.
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Pada hari Rabu, 12 Februari, keluarga Pannir telah pun sekali lagi membuat laporan polis berhubung maklumat warga Malaysia yang telah merekrut dan memberikan bungkusan tersebut kepadanya dan bertanya berkenaan perkembangan kes tersebut dan kemudiannya menerima maklumat bahawa kertas siasatan telah dibuka dan seorang pegawai penyiasat telah dilantik untuk mengendalikan kes ini setelah 10 tahun menunggu.
Dengan segala hormatnya, kami adalah berpendapat bahawa Pannir Selvam merupakan seorang keldai dadah dan tidak patut digantung mati sedangkan sindiket dadah diluar masih bebas dan barangkali sedang menyusun strategi baharu untuk merekrut mangsa dari Malaysia untuk membantu mereka membawa bungkusan dadah merentas sempadan tanpa mengetahui kandungannya.
Memandangkan maklumat dan kerjasama yang telah diberikan oleh Pannir Selvam mustahak dan penting dalam proses siasatan di Malaysia, maka kami merayu agar negara Singapura tidak melaksanakan hukuman mati terhadap Pannir Selvam.
Kami juga berharap agar Pannir Selvam dibawa pulang keMalaysia untuk meneruskan pemenjaraan beliau di Malaysia supaya beliau dapat memberi maklumat dan memudahkan siasatan kes ini – seperti yang dapat diperhatikan di negara Indonesia di mana tujuh banduan hukuman mati dihantar pulang ke negara masing-masing iaitu lima warga Australia, seorang wanita dari Filipina dan seorang lelaki dari Perancis. Dalam rujukan ini, wanita Filipina tersebut, Mary Jane Veloso, telah memberikan maklumat kritikal yang telah membantu pihak polis Filipina menahan dalang sindiket dadah, dan memandangkan beliau telah membantu didalam siasatan polis, maka kerajaan Indonesia telah menghantar Mary Jane pulang ke Filipina sebagai seorang banduan hukuman mati di mana beliau sedang menjalani tahanan di pusat tahanan wanita di Filipina dan bukan dibebaskan secara automatik.
Pada tahun lepas juga, dua lelaki warga Malaysia yang ditahan di Guantanamo Bay yang terlibat didalam pengeboman di Bali pada tahun 2002 dibenarkan dihantar pulang ke Malaysia, namun dibawah pemantauan pihak kerajaan serta menjalani proses rehabilitasi.
Kami menyokong usaha kerajaan Malaysia, seperti Singapura, yang memandang serius akan musibah pengedaran dadah di negara dan di rantau Asean dan sedang giat memburu dalang sindiket dadah yang bertanggungjawab memusnahkan masyarakat dan komuniti.
Namun, menggunakan hukuman mati terhadap keldai dadah di dalam transaksi jutaan ringgit ini oleh sindiket yang masih bebas bermaharajalela tidak wajar digunakan.
Kami sekali lagi merayu kepada kerajaan Malaysia untuk memohon agar kerajaan Singapura menangguh pelaksanaan hukuman mati terhadap warganegara Malaysia Pannir Selvam, yang kami berpendapat merupakan seorang mangsa keadaan, memandangkan siasatan telah dibuka di Malaysia berdasarkan maklumat yang telah beliau berikan terhadap individu yang telah merekrut dan memberikan satu bungkusan kepada beliau lebih 10 tahun yang lepas.
- Ramkarpal Singh, ahli parlimen Bukit Gelugor
- Kasthuri Patto, mantan ahli parlimen
- Angelia Pranthaman, adik kepada Pannir Selvam
Ahli parlimen yang hadir:
- Ramkarpal Singh (Gelugor)
- Prabakaran Parameswaran (Batu)
- Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera)
- Wong Chen (Subang)
- Kasthuri Patto (mantan ahli parlimen)
NGO yang hadir:
- Amnesty International Malaysia
- Adpan
- Hayat
- MCCHR
- Suaram
- Sebaran Kasih
- Human rights committee of Malaysian Bar Council
- Freedom Film Network
- Bersih
English version
Malaysian government must act to save Pannir Selvam from execution in Singapore
Amnesty International Malaysia is greatly alarmed at the setting in Singapore of the execution of Malaysian Pannir Selvam Pranthaman on Thursday, 20 February.
The violations of human rights protections seen in his case would render the execution arbitrary and unlawful under international [human rights] law and standards.
We join his family and many others in urging the authorities of Singapore to immediately halt plans to carry out the execution; and the government of Malaysia to make every effort to intervene and help spare Pannir Selvam’s life.
Pannir Selvam was convicted of importing into Singapore 52g of diamorphine (heroin) and was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in 2017.
The judge found he was a ‘courier’, involved only with the transport of the prohibited substance. While under sentence of death in Singapore, Pannir has shown great resilience and channelled his energy into creativity and writing heartfelt songs and poems that speak of the anguish, hope and prayers of those on death row, many of which have been shared with the public through the Sebaran Kasih NGO founded by his sister Angelia Pranthaman.
While we oppose the death penalty unconditionally and in all cases, we are deeply concerned that the numerous violations of human rights safeguards present in Pannir’s case would render his execution arbitrary and unlawful under international human rights law and standards.
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.
The death penalty was also imposed as a mandatory sentence, contrary to international law and standards, which meant that the judge could not take into account the circumstances of the offence or of his background.
Because of a unique feature in Singapore’s system, he was found to be a ‘courier’, but as the prosecution did not provide him with a “certificate of substantial assistance”, the judge had no option but to impose the mandatory sentence of hanging.
This process violates the right to a fair trial, as it placed the decision between a life-or-death sentence in the hands of the prosecution – which is not a neutral party in the trial and should not have such powers, and as it breaks down the clear separation that must exist between the prosecution and the court.
Additionally, the conviction was reached with reliance on a legal presumption of knowledge of the drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. When these legal presumptions are invoked, the burden of proof is shifted onto the defendant to be rebutted to the higher legal standard of “on a balance of probabilities”.
Legal presumptions of guilt violate the right to be presumed innocent – a peremptory norm of customary international law – and other fair trial guarantees under international human rights law that mandate that the burden of proving the charge rests on the prosecution.
As we are gathered in Parliament to highlight Pannir’s case, we reflect on the many flaws and arbitrariness of the death penalty, as well as the heavier burden that it poses on those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
These arguments echo those that dominated debates on the repeal of the mandatory death penalty in this same building just two years ago and triggered a process that has transformed the use of the death penalty in our country.
We must harness this progress to advocate against the use of this cruel punishment everywhere – the death penalty does not make us safer.
As the current chair of Asean and neighbouring country with strong ties to Singapore, the government of Malaysia must urgently intervene in Pannir Selvam’s case.
With effectively just [another day] before the execution, the government must not to spare any efforts to stop this unlawful and arbitrary execution from taking place, as a first critical step.
Amnesty International has been gathering appeals globally on behalf of Pannir Selvam. In the last four months, Amnesty International Malaysia has collected over 1,000 petitions signed by civil society and members of public asking the Malaysian government to urgently intervene to secure the commutation of Pannir Selvam’s death sentence.
Between 1 October 2024 and 7 February 2025, the authorities of Singapore carried out nine executions, including eight of individuals convicted of drug trafficking.
Singapore is one of only five countries where Amnesty International confirmed drug-related executions in 2023.
As of today, 113 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and 144 are abolitionist in law or practice.
We renew our appeal to the Singapore authorities to immediately halt Pannir’s execution and establish a moratorium on all executions, as first critical steps towards the full abolition of the death penalty.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
