I AM aghast that Singapore wants to prove its toughness in the execution of 33-year-old Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam for drug trafficking.
Nagaenthran was arrested in 2009 and subsequently sentenced to death for trafficking drugs even though he has been declared intellectually impaired.
He has an intelligent quotient (IQ) of 69, lower than an average person.
Despite pleas from human rights organisations, the Singapore government is unmoved.
Unless there is a last minute intervention from the Singapore authorities, Nagaenthran will be executed on November 10, 2021 – six days after Deepavali.
His family is caught in a difficult situation.
His mother is not even sure what is going to befall her son.
Apparently, the information about the fate of her son is kept away from her considering her health.
Whether the family can make it to Singapore to bid him farewell remains doubtful due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial limitations of the family.
Like other drug mules, Nagaenthran comes from a very poor family.
It is sad and tragic that an economically successful country like Singapore wants to showcase to the world how tough it is when it comes to dealing with drug traffickers.
Unfortunately, the law as in many countries ends up punishing the poor and the unfortunate while the real culprits behind the drug syndicates get away scot-free.
The drug mules, intending to make quick money to relieve their families of financial burden, get caught and as in the case of Nagaenthran pay with their lives.
The authorities in Singapore know very well that the penalties against drug trafficking in the form of death penalty has not worked to reduce the menace of drugs.
Tough and uncompromising laws in Singapore are just a terrible curse on the poor and the marginalised.
Those ending up in the death row in countries as a result of the stringent laws are the poor.
I will be interested to find out whether the authorities in Singapore or Malaysia have ever succeeded in nabbing the drug lords to mete out extreme punishment.
It is a shame for a country like Singapore to proceed with the execution of Nagaenthran simply because he was caught with drugs.
Whether there was any attempt to trace the roots of the problem with the cooperation of neighbouring countries like Malaysia or Thailand remains unclear.
The argument that Singapore needs tough and inhumane laws because it is a small country and is surrounded by hostile neighbours just cannot be justified.
It is a lame excuse to project a false image that Singapore is tough and uncompromising when it comes to matters of law.
Whether such an uncompromising attitude has reduced crimes or not is yet to be investigated.
What is the necessity of having tough laws with a blatant disregard for human rights in punishing the poor and the innocent?
Why do you need to impose a death penalty on Nagaenthran when he is mentally impaired?
Is it true that Singapore’s laws are applied immaterial of the mental state of prisoners?
Singapore, a country equipped with modern state facilities still relies on crude methods in imposing punishment on those caught for flouting the laws.
Nagaenthran is guilty of drug trafficking, the law is clear on this but isn’t there mitigating measures to reduce the death penalty to years of imprisonment instead?
After all, he has low IQ and is the unfortunate victim of a globally-operated drug syndicate with links in many countries.
It is not strange that Malaysia has not protested against the death penalty imposed on Nagaenthran.
For a government that sees everything through the prisms of ethnicity and religion, such a deliberate oversight is understandable.
On the legal side, there is no difference between Singapore and Malaysia when it comes to drug trafficking.
The human rights record of Malaysia is as bad as Singapore’s.
The only difference is that Malaysia is not as efficient as Singapore in the enforcement of the law.
There are too many intervening variables when it comes to the enforcement of the law without rendering Malaysia as more humane than its neighbour.
Punishing Nagaenthran with death penalty is not going to change or reduce drug trafficking in Singapore.
It might be a symbolic victory to Singapore but definitely not a substantive one.
It is unfortunate that the “tiny red dot” is so paranoid of what others will think that it continues to practice old archaic laws whether in dealing with drug trafficking or even in allowing human rights in the country.
Singapore is one country in the world where impressive economic developments have hardly any impact on liberalising politics. – Nov 3, 2021
Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Photo credit: Reuters
