Singapore S Death Penalty Punishing Agents Not Syndicates

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MY recent call for the Singapore government to revise its draconian and cruel death penalty against law offenders was not well received by some “do-gooders” in both Singapore and Malaysia.
One Singaporean argued that while I am entitled to my views, the mandatory death penalty enjoys public support in Singapore. He further claimed there is no evidence to suggest that abolishing it would reduce crime rates.
Similarly, in Malaysia, despite granting judges the discretion to choose between the death penalty and life imprisonment, drug trafficking has not declined.
My point, however, remains clear: Singapore, a small but highly successful nation-state, has so many things going well that there is no need for it to “punch above its weight” in order to satisfy deep-seated emotional or psychological impulses.
While no crime, including drug trafficking, should be justified, the question is: why punish drug mules instead of targeting the syndicates behind them?
In practice, Singapore’s death penalty disproportionately punishes the agents of these syndicates rather than the powerful figures who mastermind them.
And who are these agents? Mostly members of the working class—those driven by poverty, coercion, or desperation.
Nobody, including governments, has the moral right to take the lives of others. Yes, drug trafficking creates serious societal problems.
But condemning vulnerable mules to years in prison, giving them a chance to reflect on their mistakes, is far more just and humane than subjecting them to an irreversible and instantaneous death sentence. 
Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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