Lima lelaki hadapi tali gantung Singapura/Five men face Singapore’s gallows

[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Memandangkan lima banduan lelaki kini dipercayai berisiko di Singapura, kami, pertubuhan masyarakat sivil yang bertandatangan di bawah, menyeru pihak berkuasa Singapura untuk menghentikan serta-merta semua hukuman mati.

Kami juga menggesa kerajaan Malaysia untuk mengambil semua langkah yang mungkin untuk melindungi hak rakyatnya yang berhadapan dengan hukuman mati di Singapura dan mendesak supaya hukuman mati dihentikan sepenuhnya, di Malaysia dan di peringkat antarabangsa.

Antara mereka yang berisiko pelaksanaan hukuman mati ialah Datchinamurthy Kataiah, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, Saminathan Selvaraju, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren dan Jumaat Mohamed Sayed.

Kesemua mereka dijatuhi hukuman mati kerana didakwa mengedar dadah, dan masing-masing telah menjalani kehidupan selama tujuh hingga 10 tahun sebagai banduan akhir. Sementara Jumaat adalah warga Singapura, empat lagi adalah warga Malaysia.

Rayuan terkini kelima-lima mereka telah ditolak, selepas bertahun-tahun mereka berjuang mengatasi segala kemungkinan untuk mendapatkan keadilan.

Singapura telah pun melaksanakan hukuman mati ke atas 10 lelaki, termasuk dua rakyat Malaysia, setakat tahun ini.

Pada Ogos 2025, kabinet Singapura menasihatkan presiden untuk memberikan pengampunan kepada seorang yang dihukum mati – kali pertama ini dilakukan dalam hampir tiga dekad. Walaupun kami mengalu-alukan keputusan yang jarang berlaku ini, ia hanya menekankan kesewenang-wenangan dan kekejaman hukuman mati untuk semua yang lain yang masih berisiko.

Individu yang dihukum mati di Singapura dan keluarga mereka hanya diberi notis empat hingga tujuh hari sebelum hukuman mati dilaksanakan.

Sebagaimana kami menggesa pihak berkuasa kedua-dua negara untuk melindungi hak asasi manusia dan menamatkan hukuman mati, kami juga menggalakkan rakyat Malaysia dan Singapura untuk bertindak sekarang untuk membantu menghentikan hukuman mati yang akan dilaksanakan terhadap individu-individu ini. Kami tidak mampu untuk menunggu, sementara kami tahu mana-mana individu ini mungkin mendapat notis pelaksanaan dalam beberapa hari akan datang.

Pada persimpangan kritikal ini, kerajaan Malaysia mesti bertindak tegas untuk melindungi nyawa rakyatnya dan semua yang menghadapi hukuman mati, serta mendesak pemansuhan hukuman mati di rantau ini.

Ramai anak muda Malaysia, sering daripada latar belakang sosioekonomi yang kurang bernasib baik, telah terdedah untuk direkrut ke dalam perdagangan dadah, dan kerajaan Malaysia mempunyai kewajipan moral untuk membela mereka, bukan membiarkan mereka mati di penjara asing.

Setelah memansuhkan hukuman mati mandatori pada 2023, dan meneruskan usaha ke arah pemansuhan sepenuhnya, Malaysia kini perlu melangkah lebih jauh dengan memperluaskan advokasinya untuk melindungi warganegaranya di luar negara yang kekal berisiko di bawah rejim hukuman mati mandatori yang keras dan kejam di Singapura.

Sementara itu, rakyat Singapura yang gerun dengan hukuman mati ini mesti bersuara menentang hukuman yang tidak berperikemanusiaan ini. Singapura semakin bersendirian di rantau ini dalam melaksanakan hukuman mati mandatori dan melaksanakan hukuman mati bagi pengedaran dadah.

Kes Pannir Selvam Pranthaman

Salah seorang warga Malaysia yang berisiko tinggi ialah Pannir Selvam Pranthaman. Kes beliau dipenuhi dengan pelanggaran undang-undang dan piawaian hak asasi manusia antarabangsa, dan menunjukkan kelemahan asas dalam rejim hukuman mati yang kejam di Singapura.

Pada 2017, Pannir disabitkan kesalahan mengimport 51.8g diamorphine (heroin) ke Singapura dan dijatuhkan hukuman mati mandatori. Walaupun terdapat bukti bahawa beliau hanyalah “kurier” dan telah memberikan maklumat substantif kepada pihak berkuasa, Jabatan Peguam Negara Singapura enggan mengeluarkan ‘sijil bantuan substantif’ kepada Pannir. Tanpa sijil sedemikian, mahkamah tidak mempunyai pilihan selain menjatuhkan hukuman mati kepada beliau.

Pannir, melalui keluarganya, telah berkongsi maklumat dengan Polis Diraja Malaysia berhubung operasi sindiket di sepanjang pantai Malaysia. Kesnya juga telah terjejas oleh kekurangan perwakilan undang-undang semasa soal siasat polis, undang-undang yang menyekat rayuan selepas sabitan kesalahan, penafian bantuan guaman pada peringkat selepas rayuan, dan pelanggaran komunikasi istimewa antara mereka yang menghadapi hukuman mati dengan peguam.

Pada 5 September 2025, Mahkamah Rayuan Singapura menolak permohonan terbaru Pannir untuk penangguhan pelaksanaan, walaupun aduan tatatertib beliau terhadap bekas peguam beliau masih belum diselesaikan. Mahkamah berkata dalam penghakimannya bahawa Persatuan Undang-undang Singapura mungkin perlu bertindak segera untuk “memelihara” keterangan Pannir sebelum pelaksanaan hukuman mati ke atas beliau – satu pengakuan yang mengejutkan dan mengerikan tentang kekejaman besar hukuman mati yang semakin hampir.

Penggunaan anggapan (bersalah) undang-undang dalam kes-kes jenayah: Pertarungan berani 

Pada Ogos 2022, Datchinamurthy, Saminathan, Lingkesvaran dan Jumaat memfailkan cabaran terhadap perlembagaan anggapan (bersalah) undang-undang berhubung dengan pengedaran, pemilikan dan pengetahuan di bawah Akta Penyalahgunaan Dadah Singapura. Mereka masing-masing telah disabitkan berdasarkan kepada dua anggapan sedemikian yang terkandung dalam Seksyen 18(1) dan 18(2) akta itu.

Akta Penyalahgunaan Dadah membenarkan anggapan (bersalah) undang-undang digunakan oleh pihak pendakwaan, di mana beban pembuktian dialihkan kepada defendan untuk disangkal oleh mereka kepada piawaian undang-undang “pada keseimbangan kebarangkalian”.

Walaupun bidang kuasa lain seperti Kanada, Hong Kong dan UK telah menolak penggunaan anggapan undang-undang untuk disangkal atas imbangan kebarangkalian – atas dasar membenarkan seseorang tertuduh disabitkan walaupun keraguan munasabah masih wujud – Singapura terus menggunakan anggapan (bersalah) undang-undang tersebut dalam kes pengedaran, pemilikan dan pengetahuan dalam kes dadah.

Anggapan bersalah secara berkesan melemahkan jaminan perbicaraan yang adil di bawah undang-undang hak asasi manusia antarabangsa dan melanggar hak untuk dianggap tidak bersalah – norma lazim undang-undang antarabangsa.

Selanjutnya, anggapan pemilikan dan pengetahuan boleh digunakan bersama-sama di Singapura – penggunaannya telah diterangkan di mahkamah lain sebagai suatu penghinaan kepada anggapan tidak bersalah.

Empat lelaki banduan akhir ini telah mengharungi suatu cabaran perjalanan yang panjang dan sukar. Skim bantuan guaman di Singapura tidak meliputi pemfailan rayuan luar biasa.

Memandangkan mereka tidak mempunyai cara untuk menghubungi peguam secara persendirian, mereka berempat tidak diwakili untuk masa yang lama, memaksa mereka hadir ke mahkamah tanpa peguam untuk menghujahkan bantahan mereka sendiri.

Apabila peguam kanan asing menawarkan untuk mewakili mereka secara pro bono, mahkamah memutuskan bahawa mereka sendiri perlu menghujahkan permintaan untuk menerima peguam asing ini untuk mewakili mereka di Singapura – mewujudkan keadaan yang keterlaluan di mana orang yang dihukum mati terpaksa mengemukakan hujah undang-undang yang sangat teknikal manakala peguam kanan asing hanya boleh melihat ini berlaku.

Akhirnya, Mahkamah Singapura menolak permohonan mereka supaya peguam ini mewakili mereka.

Hanya kira-kira dua tahun selepas cabaran perlembagaan mereka difailkan, beberapa peguam tempatan bersetuju untuk mengambil kes mereka, yang ditolak bulan lalu.

Dengan berakhirnya kes ini, tiada lagi prosiding undang-undang tertangguh untuk menghalang pihak berkuasa Singapura daripada menjadualkan pelaksanaan hukuman mati mereka.

Kebimbangan besar terhadap lain-lain pelanggaran undang-undang dan piawaian hak asasi manusia antarabangsa

Kami mengingatkan pihak berkuasa Singapura bahawa perlindungan antarabangsa mengenai penggunaan hukuman mati melarang pelaksanaan hukuman mati sementara rayuan atau prosedur lain yang dilakukan masih belum selesai.

Sudah tentu boleh diakui bahawa penglibatan Pannir – untuk mengarahkan peguam, memberi keterangan dan menjawab sebarang bukti yang dibangkitkan oleh bekas peguam beliau – adalah satu-satunya cara untuk memastikan keputusan yang adil dalam aduan beliau yang dikemukakan kepada Persatuan Undang-undang Singapura.

Ini amat kritikal memandangkan aduan itu termasuk perbualan langsung yang melibatkan Pannir dan bekas peguam beliau; dan beberapa orang lain yang dihukum mati yang juga telah memfailkan aduan terhadap peguam yang sama ini telah pun dilaksanakan hukuman mereka sebelum keterangan mereka didengar.

Seperti Pannir, surat-menyurat peribadi kedua-dua Datchinamurthy dan Saminathan juga telah disalin dan diserahkan oleh Perkhidmatan Penjara Singapura, tanpa kebenaran, kepada Jabatan Peguam Negara – suatu tindakan yang telah diputuskan oleh Mahkamah Rayuan Singapura sebagai menyalahi undang-undang.

Individu yang dijatuhkan hukuman mati di Singapura telah menimbulkan kebimbangan serius tentang halangan yang sangat terlarang yang mereka hadapi dalam memfailkan permohonan undang-undang selepas rayuan jenayah mereka selesai.

Mereka juga berulang kali membangkitkan betapa sukarnya untuk mereka melibatkan peguam di Singapura, memandangkan risiko denda yang membebankan, teguran dan kos yang perlu ditanggung oleh peguam untuk mengambil kes jenayah di peringkat akhir.

Keadaan hukuman mati di Singapura semakin memburuk saban tahun, dengan banduan mengalami pengasingan dalam sel bersendirian, komunikasi yang sangat terhad antara mereka dan orang tersayang mereka, dan pihak berkuasa penjara menjadikannya hampir mustahil bagi banduan yang terlibat dalam cabaran undang-undang yang sama untuk berbincang antara satu sama lain.

Hukuman mati bagi kesalahan dadah melanggar undang-undang dan piawaian hak asasi manusia antarabangsa, yang mengehadkan penggunaan hukuman mati hanya kepada “jenayah paling serius”, yang difahami sebagai pembunuhan dengan sengaja.

Pengedaran dadah tidak memenuhi ambang ini. Kedua-dua jawatankuasa hak asasi manusia PBB dan pelapor khas PBB telah secara konsisten mengesahkan pendirian ini.

Namun, sebahagian besar hukuman mati yang berlaku di Singapura dijalankan sebagai sebahagian daripada kempen nasional “perang melawan dadah” – yang mana menunjukkan betapa jauhnya pendirian Singapura berbanding masyarakat antarabangsa dalam soal hak asasi manusia dan keadilan.

Perdana Menteri baharu, Lawrence Wong

Sebagai Perdana Menteri baharu Singapura, Lawrence Wong berpeluang mengambil langkah penting untuk menghentikan penggunaan hukuman mati yang kejam dan tidak berperikemanusiaan di Singapura yang telah meragut ratusan nyawa sejak merdeka.

Mengenakan moratorium serta-merta ke atas hukuman mati dan memansuhkan hukuman mati mandatori akan menjadi langkah penting yang mendesak yang boleh beliau lakukan, dengan tujuan ke arah pemansuhan sepenuhnya.

Ini bukan sahaja akan menyelamatkan nyawa ramai banduan akhir, tetapi juga memastikan Singapura tidak ketinggalan oleh trend antarabangsa yang menolak penggunaan hukuman mati.

Perdana Menteri Wong setakat ini tidak membuat sebarang kenyataan umum mengenai penggunaan hukuman mati oleh Singapura.

Bagaimanapun, pengampunan pertama yang diberikan kepada banduan hukuman mati dalam tempoh 27 tahun – yang tidak mungkin berlaku tanpa kabinet Wong menasihati Presiden Tharman Shanmugaratnam untuk berbuat demikian – menunjukkan bahawa perubahan boleh dilakukan.

Perdana Menteri Wong tidak seharusnya berdiam diri dalam isu ini, dan harus menunjukkan kepimpinan dalam menamatkan penggunaan hukuman mati oleh Singapura.

Peranan Malaysia sebagai pengerusi Asean: Peluang menerajui pemansuhan

Pemansuhan hukuman mati mandatori Malaysia berkuat kuasa pada Julai 2023, sebelum proses pendakwaan semula menyeluruh di mahkamah untuk semua individu yang dijatuhkan hukuman mati mandatori sebelum pindaan, termasuk mereka yang disabitkan kesalahan mengedar dadah.

Akibatnya, kebanyakan hukuman mati telah diketepikan dan digantikan dengan 30 hingga 40 tahun penjara dan, jika berkenaan, sebat.

Kami diberi suntikan semangat dengan pengumuman baru-baru ini bahawa moratorium pelaksanaan hukuman mati terus dipatuhi di Malaysia, dan kajian baharu sedang ditugaskan untuk mempertimbangkan kemungkinan pemansuhan hukuman mati sepenuhnya.

Sebagai pengerusi Asean, Malaysia mempunyai kedudukan unik untuk memperjuangkan hak asasi manusia di rantau ini. Campur tangan Malaysia dalam kes ini bukan sahaja menunjukkan komitmennya untuk menyokong rakyatnya yang menghadapi hukuman mati di luar negara, tetapi juga kepimpinannya dalam memajukan agenda hak asasi manusia dalam Asean.

Kami menyeru pihak berkuasa kedua-dua negara untuk:

• Melibatkan diri dalam campur tangan yang pantas dan berkesan: Gunakan semua saluran yang ada, termasuk rayuan diplomatik langsung untuk menggesa kerajaan Singapura supaya tidak melaksanakan hukuman mati ke atas Datchinamurthy, Pannir, Saminathan dan Lingkesvaran, dan untuk menghalang hukuman mati selanjutnya daripada berlaku di Singapura, termasuk yang akan menyalahi undang-undang di bawah undang-undang dan piawaian antarabangsa.
• Memanfaatkan mekanisme Asean dan memimpin melalui contoh: Gunakan kedudukan Malaysia sebagai pengerusi Asean untuk menyokong kerjasama serantau untuk menghapuskan hukuman mati, sambil bergerak ke arah pemansuhan sepenuhnya di negara sendiri untuk menunjukkan contoh yang kukuh bagi rantau ini.
• Berkomitmen ke arah pemansuhan hukuman mati sepenuhnya: Laksanakan atau kekalkan moratorium ke atas pelaksanaan hukuman mati, dan jalankan kajian bebas, berasaskan bukti dan telus untuk menjauhi hukuman mati.

Ini bukan semata-mata untuk menyelamatkan nyawa beberapa orang lelaki banduan akhir terpilih yang mendekam di Penjara Changi Singapura. Ia adalah mengenai menamatkan kekejaman hukuman mati, memastikan kedua-dua Singapura dan Malaysia menegakkan maruah dan hak semua, dan menunjukkan kepimpinan yang diperlukan untuk menggerakkan negara mereka dan serantau ke arah pemansuhan.

Kami menyeru kerajaan Malaysia untuk bertindak tanpa berlengah-lengah, dan kepada pihak berkuasa Singapura untuk melaksanakan moratorium serta-merta ke atas hukuman mati, dan mengelak daripada mengeluarkan sebarang notis pelaksanaan.

*Pada 21 September 2025, keluarga Datchinamurthy Kataiah menerima berita bahawa hukuman mati ke atas beliau akan dilaksanakan pada 25 September 2025 di Penjara Changi.

English version

Malaysia and Singapore at a crossroads: Stop executions, uphold human rights

Civil society groups demand immediate intervention as Singapore prepares to execute five men, including four Malaysians

As five men are now believed to be at imminent risk in Singapore, we, the undersigned civil society organisations, call on the Singaporean authorities to immediately halt all executions.

We also urge the Malaysian government to take all possible steps to protect the rights of its nationals facing execution in Singapore and to press for a complete end to the death penalty, at home and internationally.

Among those who are at imminent risk of execution are Datchinamurthy Kataiah, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, Saminathan Selvaraju, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren and Jumaat Mohamed Sayed. All of them were sentenced to death for drug trafficking and have each spent seven to 10 years on death row.

While Jumaat is a Singaporean, the other four are Malaysians. The five of them had their most recent appeals dismissed after many years of struggle for justice against all odds.

Singapore has already executed 10 men, including two Malaysians, so far this year. In August 2025, Singapore’s cabinet advised the president to grant clemency to one person on death row – the first time this has been done in almost three decades.

While we welcome this rare decision, it only underscores the arbitrariness and cruelty of the death penalty for all others still at risk. Individuals on death row in Singapore and their families are only given four to seven days’ notice of their execution.

As we urge the authorities of both countries to protect human rights and end the death penalty, we also encourage Malaysians and Singaporeans to act now to help stop the imminent executions of these individuals. We cannot afford to wait, knowing that any of these individuals may get an execution notice in the coming days.

At this critical juncture, the Malaysian government must act decisively to protect the lives of its nationals and all those facing execution, as well as push for the abolition of the death penalty in the region.

Many young Malaysians, often from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have been vulnerable to being recruited into the drug trade, and the Malaysian government has a moral duty to advocate for them, not leave them to die in foreign prisons.

Having abolished the mandatory death penalty in 2023, and as it continues its journey towards full abolition, Malaysia must now go further by extending its advocacy to protect its nationals abroad who remain at risk under Singapore’s harsh and cruel mandatory death penalty regime.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans who are horrified by these executions must speak out against this inhumane punishment. Singapore is increasingly alone in the region in implementing the mandatory death penalty and carrying out executions for drug trafficking.

The Case of Pannir Selvam

One of the Malaysian nationals at grave risk is Pannir Selvam Pranthaman. His case is riddled with violations of international human rights law and standards, and demonstrates fundamental flaws in Singapore’s cruel capital punishment regime.

In 2017, Pannir was convicted of importing into Singapore 51.8g of diamorphine (heroin) and was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty.

Despite evidence that he was a mere “courier” and had provided substantive information to the authorities, Singapore’s Attorney General’s Chambers refused to issue Pannir a “certificate of substantive assistance”. Without such a certificate, the court had no choice but to sentence him to death.

Pannir, through his family, has shared information with the Malaysian police regarding syndicate operations along Malaysia’s shores. His case has also been affected by a lack of legal representation during police interrogation, restrictive laws that curtailed post-conviction appeals, the denial of legal aid at the post-appeal stage, and breaches of privileged communication between those facing the death penalty and lawyers.

On 5 September 2025, the Singapore Court of Appeal dismissed Pannir’s latest application for a stay of execution, even as his disciplinary complaint against his former lawyer remains unresolved.

The court said in its judgment that the Law Society of Singapore may need to act urgently to “preserve” Pannir’s testimony before his execution – a shocking and macabre acknowledgment of the grave cruelty of his looming execution.

Use of legal presumptions of guilt in capital cases: a valiant fight

In August 2022, Datchinamurthy, Saminathan, Lingkesvaran and Jumaat filed a challenge against the constitutionality of the legal presumptions of guilt in relation to trafficking, possession and knowledge under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act.

They each had been convicted with reliance on two such presumptions contained in Section 18(1) and (2) of that act.

The Misuse of Drugs Act allows legal presumptions to be used by the prosecution, whereby the burden of proof is shifted onto the defendant to be rebutted by them to the legal standard of “on a balance of probabilities”.

While other jurisdictions such as Canada, Hong Kong and the UK have rejected the use of legal presumptions to be rebutted on the balance of probabilities -on the basis that it allows for an accused person to be convicted despite reasonable doubt still existing – Singapore continues to apply such legal presumptions in cases of trafficking, possession and knowledge in capital drug cases.

Presumptions of guilt effectively undermine fair trial guarantees under international human rights law and violate the right to be presumed innocent -a peremptory norm of customary international law.

Further, the presumption of possession and knowledge can be applied together in Singapore – the use of which has been described in other courts as a severe derogation from the presumption of innocence.

It was a long, arduous journey for the four men to see this challenge through. Legal aid schemes in Singapore do not cover the filing of extraordinary appeals.

As they had no means to engage a lawyer privately, the four men were unrepresented for a long time, forcing them to appear in court without lawyers to argue their challenge by themselves.

When foreign senior counsel offered to represent them pro bono, the court ruled that they would have to argue by themselves the request to admit these foreign counsels to represent them in Singapore – creating an outrageous situation in which persons on death row had to present highly technical legal arguments while the foreign senior lawyers could only watch.

In the end, the Singapore courts rejected their application to have these lawyers represent them.

It was only about two years after their constitutional challenge was filed that some local lawyers agreed to take on the case, which was dismissed last month.

With the conclusion of this case, there is no longer any pending legal proceeding to prevent the Singaporean authorities from scheduling their executions.

Grave concerns over other violations of international human rights law and standards

We remind the Singaporean authorities that international safeguards on the use of the death penalty prohibit carrying out executions while appeals or other recourse procedures are pending.

Surely it can be recognised that Pannir’s involvement – to instruct counsel, give testimony and respond to any evidence raised by his former lawyer – is the only way to ensure a fair outcome in his complaint lodged with the Law Society of Singapore.

This is especially critical given that the complaint includes a direct conversation involving Pannir and his former lawyer, and that several other persons on death row who had also filed complaints against this same lawyer have already been executed before their testimonies could be heard.

Like Pannir, both Datchinamurthy and Saminathan also had their private correspondence copied and forwarded by the Singapore Prison Service, without authorisation, to the Attorney General’s Chambers – an act that Singapore’s Court of Appeal has ruled to be unlawful.

Individuals on death row in Singapore have raised serious concerns about the extremely prohibitive barriers that they face in filing legal applications after their criminal appeal has concluded. They have also repeatedly brought up how difficult it is for them to engage lawyers in Singapore, given the risk of onerous fines, reprimands and costs that lawyers have to bear for taking up capital cases at later stages.

Conditions on death row in Singapore have worsened over the years, with prisoners enduring isolation in solitary cells, severely restricted communications between them and their loved ones, and the prison authorities making it close to impossible for persons involved in the same legal challenge to confer with one another.

The death penalty for drug offences violates international human rights law and standards, which limit the use of capital punishment only to the “most serious crimes”, understood as intentional killing.

Drug trafficking does not meet this threshold. Both the UN human rights committee and the UN special rapporteurs have consistently affirmed this position.

Yet the vast majority of executions that take place in Singapore are carried out as part of the country’s extremely punitive ‘war on drugs’ – demonstrating how far out of step Singapore is with the international community when it comes to human rights and justice.

Lawrence Wong’s new PM-ship

As Singapore’s new Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong has an opportunity to take the momentous step of leading Singapore away from the cruel and inhumane use of the death penalty that has taken hundreds of lives since independence.

Imposing an immediate moratorium on executions and repealing the mandatory death penalty would be critical urgent steps that he could lead on, with a view towards full abolition.

This will not only spare the many people currently on death row, but also ensure that Singapore is not left behind by the international trend away from the use of capital punishment.

Prime Minister Wong has so far not made any public statements on Singapore’s use of the death penalty. However, the first clemency granted to a death row prisoner in 27 years – which would not have been possible without Wong’s cabinet advising President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to do so – shows that change is possible.

Prime Minister Wong should not remain silent on this issue, and should demonstrate leadership in ending Singapore’s use of the death penalty.

Malaysia’s role as Asean chair: A chance to lead on abolition

Malaysia’s abolition of the mandatory death penalty came into effect in July 2023, preceding a comprehensive re-sentencing process in court for all individuals sentenced to the mandatory death penalty prior to the amendments, including those convicted of drug trafficking.

As a result, most death sentences have been set aside and replaced with 30–40 years’ imprisonment and, when applicable, whipping.

We are encouraged by the recent announcement that the moratorium on executions continues to be observed in Malaysia and that a new study is being commissioned to consider the potential abolition of the death penalty.

As the current chair of Asean, Malaysia is uniquely positioned to champion human rights in the region. Malaysia’s intervention in these cases would not only demonstrate its commitment to support its nationals facing execution abroad but also its leadership in advancing a human rights agenda within Asean.

We call on the authorities of the two countries to:

• Engage in swift and effective intervention: Utilise all available channels, including direct diplomatic appeals to urge the government of Singapore to halt the executions of Datchinamurthy, Pannir, Saminathan and Lingkesvaran, and to prevent further executions from taking place in Singapore, including those that would be unlawful under international law and standards.
• Leverage Asean mechanisms and lead by example: Utilise Malaysia’s position as Asean chair to advocate for regional cooperation to abolish the death penalty, while moving towards full abolition at home to set a strong example for the region.
• Commit to steps toward full abolition of the death penalty: Implement or maintain a moratorium on executions, and commission independent, evidence-based and transparent studies on moving away from capital punishment.

This is not merely about saving the lives of a select few men languishing on death row in Singapore’s Changi Prison. It is about ending the cruelty of the death penalty, ensuring that both Singapore and Malaysia uphold the dignity and rights of all, and about demonstrating the leadership needed to move their countries and the region towards abolition.

We call on the Malaysian government to act without delay, and on the Singaporean authorities to implement an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, and to refrain from issuing any execution notices.

*On 21 September 2025, Datchinamurthy Kataiah’s family received news that his execution will be carried out on 25 September 2025 at Changi Prison.

Signatories:

1. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan)
2. Amnesty International
3. Capital Punishment Justice Project
4. Transformative Justice Collective (Singapore)
5. Student Actions for Transformative Justice (Satu, Singapore)
6. Alliance Against the Death Penalty (AADP, Singapore)
7. Function 8 (Singapore)
8. Center for Orang Asli Concerns
9. Advancing Knowledge in Democracy and Law initiative
10. Freedom Film Network
11. Sebaran Kasih Malaysia
12. ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty)
13. Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet)
14. Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights
15. Redemption Pakistan
16. Workers Hub For Change (WH4C)
17. North South Initiative
18. Julian Wagner Memorial Fund Inc.
19. Australians Against Capital Punishment
20. The National Human Rights Society (Hakam)
21. Centre for Independent Journalism
22. Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (Masum)
23. Coalition for Clean & Fair Election (Bersih)
24. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia [SABM]
25. SIS Forum (Malaysia)
26. Tenaganita
27. Maldivian Democracy Network
28. Bersih
29. KLSCAH Youth
30. Puerto Rico Bar
31. Aliran

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