Capital Punishment should be Abolished in Malaysia

Capital punishment is a death sentence awarded for capital offences where in the criminal provisions consider such persons as a gross danger or threats to the existence of the society. As the merge of human rights associations, this punishment is strictly opposed for its cruelty and this has been a global debate for some years. In Malaysia, this punishment is proudly held in the law and until today, executions are being held. It is a great shame as all members of the United Nation were already called to join the moratorium of death penalty (Amnesty International, 2007). Many countries have abandoned capital punishment and Malaysia should do the same as it is inappropriate, cruel and it does not help the society in any ways. It is inappropriate for today as clearly, it is incongruent with what Malaysia is aiming for. The aim is to be a fully developed country and to be one Malaysia has to fulfil all challenges which one of it is to be a fully caring society (Razak, 2010). Putting an end to one’s life does not define “caring” at all. Even though the punishment has been practised in almost every society, many have abandoned the punishment and more are in favour of abolishing it (Caroline Sculier, 2010). If the policy is as such, then the government is at the same footing as the murderers (Stevenson, 1993). As death penalty is final, those criminals will also be deprived from the opportunity to change and the true causes of crimes will not be figured out (Joseph A. Melusky, 2003). Thus, when justice is hurried, justice is buried too. This clearly shows that we have no mercy and for a society that values human rights, justice and mercy, there should be no death penalty at all (Ragunath Kesavan, 2010). To punish does not mean having to do it cruelly. The world has decides that death penalty is inhuman and degrading punishment which also constitutes a torture (Caroline Sculier, 2010). Inevitably, there are risks in executing innocent people such as cases of drug trafficking involving people who were fooled by so-called job agencies (The Star Online, 2010). It is very unjust to prosecute innocent lives. What is more, The United Nation disapproves capital punishment as it is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Malaysia’s excuse was that, Malaysia is not one of the signatories of Committees Against Torture (CAT) and International Convention of Civil nd Political Rights (ICCPR), and so, Malaysia is not bound to any of their aims (Eldridge, 2002). Malaysia has shown how barbaric the nation is and the reality of death penalty is that it is hypocritical as lives cannot be traded like commodities. To replace belongings or things is acceptable, but to kill, it is cruel (Stevenson, 1993). What more to grieve is, capital punishment does not deter crimes and it does not help the society. It shows no positive result in decreasing violent crime rates (Caroline Sculier, 2010). Death penalty actually promotes crimes. When our government approves on taking one’s life, it’s a symbolic to vengeance. Thus, victims of crimes will not hesitate to do it on their own. Life imprisonment is the best option because a clean break is not that frightening. Having the thought of being locked up in a room for the whole life is scarier. For drug-trafficking offences, there is also no evidence that the punishment helps (Human Rights Watch, 2009). It is not only useless, but it obscures the true causes of crime too. Knowing the causes of crimes is what matters the most and by executing, this disallows research on them and will consequently blind us forever. Hence, the aim of deterring crime will never be achieved. Common arguments and beliefs of why Malaysia should continue capital punishment are of justice, deterrent and retribution. On justice, an execution is said to bring closure to the criminal and closure to the ordeal for the victim’s family. Of deterrent, capital punishment is taken as a tool to scare potential criminals as it is hoped that they will think twice before breaking the law for fear of losing their lives. And of retribution, the taking of criminal’s life allows society to show convincingly that certain crimes will not be tolerated. However in reality, if criminals have made up their minds to commit crimes, having the “mens rea” to do any, the punishments will never be taken in considerations. Plus, it is not the best deterrent tool as there is no exact statistic showing the decrease of crime rate for which the death penalty is mandatory (Ragunath Kesavan, 2010). To continue this law is to show how decadent the nation is. Malaysia has more moral based policies, but still, why is this legal? Australia’s previous Prime Minister, Hawke, have mentioned capital punishment as barbaric by seeing Malaysia’s policy. And that was insulting (Eldridge, 2002). Killing in any form victimizes all human kinds. Killing will never solve problems and killing will further brings great destructions. The world has decides that the punishment is cruel and let us stand with others. We pride ourselves for being a “caring” society and let us show to the world that we are. Capital punishment should be abolished as it proves nothing but the act of barbarism.

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