Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) urged Putrajaya to appeal to Singapore for clemency, arguing that P Pannir Selvam was merely a drug mule and not a major trafficker.
“I urge the government, especially the attorney-general and the prime minister, to write or contact their counterparts in Singapore to request that Pannir not be executed, considering he is merely a drug courier.
“And the facts of the case warrant that the death penalty should not be imposed,” he said in debating the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat.
Ramkarpal went on to say that Malaysia had previously appealed to Singapore, referring to the time when Ismail – the country’s ninth prime minister – had done so for Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam several years ago.
“As former PM Ismail did during his tenure, he wrote to Singapore to request that a Malaysian citizen, Nagaenthran, not be subjected to the death penalty,” he said.
Ismail had in 2021 written to then Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong appealing for leniency for Nagaenthran, who was also convicted on drug charges, on “humanitarian grounds”. Nagaenthran was however executed the following year.
Pannir, 37, was arrested in 2014 at Woodlands checkpoint while entering Singapore from Malaysia with 51.84gm of heroin hidden in his belongings. He was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to death, despite arguing that he was only a courier.
Pannir fought his conviction all the way to Singapore’s highest court, but his appeals were dismissed, leaving him at risk of execution. His clemency petition to the Singaporean president was also rejected and he remains on death row in Changi Prison.
Separately, Ramkarpal raised the issue of judicial independence over the prime minister’s power to reject appointment of judges recommended by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).
He called on the government to amend the JAC Act 2009 to prevent executive interference and protect public confidence in the courts.
“Will the government review and amend the JAC Act to remove the prime minister’s role in appointing judges, so transparency and independence are maintained?”
Ramkarpal also asked that the present Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s tenure be extended, given her sterling performance. She will go on mandatory retirement upon turning 66 in July.