MALAYSIA will try to save Michael Garing as many believe the death penalty is excessive, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“We hope other countries (Singapore) feel the same way.
“For instance, Australia will not return a convicted offender (Sirul Azhar Umar) because there is the death penalty here,” the prime minister told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
De facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said the government will appeal to the Singapore president to commute Michael’s death sentence, which is due to be carried out on Friday.
“We will continue to send our representation and protest on this issue as we have done before,” said Liew yesterday.
Sirul, a former bodyguard of Najib Razak who was sentenced to death in 2015 for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, is currently in Australia under a political asylum.
Australia has declined to deport Sirul on account of Malaysia’s capital punishment system.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will stop buying European products if the European Union persists in banning the import of palm oil from Malaysia, said Dr Mahathir.
“I believe we will stop buying European products. This is the one thing we can do,” said the 93-year-old.
Source: themalaysianinsight.com, Staff, March 20, 2019
Spare son’s life, parents make last-minute appeal to Singapore president
PETALING JAYA: The parents of Michael Anak Garing, whose execution is scheduled at Singapore’s Changi Prison on Friday, have sent an urgent clemency petition to the president of the island state.
The petition, dated yesterday, was hand-delivered by Michael’s brother and other family members to the istana this morning.
According to Lawyers for Liberty adviser N Surendran, Singapore law does not prevent a fresh petition of clemency from being lodged with the president.
In the petition, Michael’s parents, Ensiring anak Garman and Garing anak Kanyan, asked for their son’s life to be spared.
“We humbly ask the president of Singapore for mercy and compassion to spare the life of our son Michael,” the petition read.
The parents also apologised to the family of the victim of the crime.
“We do not want to excuse our son’s offence but we ask for mercy. Please commute his sentence to life imprisonment,” they said.
Michael, 30, was reported to be part of a gang that went on a slashing spree while robbing people, killing a man and severely injuring three, in Kallang, Singapore. in 2010.
Surendran said Lawyers for Liberty appreciated the announcement by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that efforts were being made for the commutation of the death sentence.
“We hope the president of Singapore and the Singapore government will give serious consideration to the parents’ clemency petition on behalf of Michael, and the appeal of Tun Mahathir and our government,” he said in a statement.
“Pending consideration of these matters, we respectfully ask that the Singapore authorities stay the execution planned for Friday.”
Source:
freemalaysiatoday.com, Staff, March 20, 2019
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
