ADUN SPEAKS | I am aghast that Singapore wants to prove its toughness in the execution of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam for drug trafficking.

Nagaenthran, 33, was arrested in 2011 and subsequently sentenced to death for trafficking in drugs even though he has been declared intellectually impaired.

He has an intelligent quotient 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 Nov 10, 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.

Very poor family

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 bring his remains home is doubtful due to the 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 about how tough it is when it comes to dealing with the 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 in the case of Singapore pay with their lives.

The authorities in Singapore know very well that the penalties against drug trafficking in the form of death penalty have not worked to reduce the menace of drugs.

In fact, the tougher the law gets, the drug lords invent new ways to engage in trafficking.

In short, drug trafficking is a global problem, not necessarily the problem faced by countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

Inhumane laws

Tough and uncompromising laws in Singapore are just a terrible curse on the poor and the marginalised.

Those ending up in 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 made to trace the roots of the problem with the cooperation of the neighbouring countries like Malaysia or Thailand remains unclear.

The argument that Singapore needs tough and inhumane laws because it is a small country and, what is more, 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 came 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 regardless of the mental state of prisoners?

Deliberate oversight

Singapore, a country equipped with modern state facilities, still relies on crude methods in imposing punishment on those caught for flouting the laws.

Nagaenthran might be 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?

But, at the same time, he has a low IQ and is an 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, a Malaysian.

A government that sees everything through the prism 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.

Symbolic victory

Human rights record of Malaysia is as worse as Singapore.

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 more humane than its neighbour.

Punishing Nagaenthran with the 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 practise 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 had any impact on liberalising politics.

P RAMASAMY is Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.