Oh, do we agree with the death penalty now?

Last week, the murderers of Altantuya Sharibuugiin @ Sharibuu, both Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, were finally sentenced to death for their crime by the Federal Court. Many were rejoicing over the decision and subsequent anger when it was discovered that Sirul was now living in Australia.

And I love some of the comments from the people on social media. Bring him home to the noose, was one call. And of course, many went truly conspiracy theory crazy, alluding that he got away because the PM or his posse had arranged it.

Insane theories aside, there were also questions raised on how Sirul got his passport to have ran off to Australia last November. Well, both of them were free men after the court acquitted them in 2008 because no one (read: the prosecution) applied for them to be remanded pending the appeal.

The nation Down Under has apparently denied the extradition order on the basis that Sirul is facing the death penalty. As of yet, nobody has actually written out to appeal for the death penalty to be set aside for life imprisonment.

Not a single one. I find it interesting because we have had a strong presence of those who reject the death penalty, and at one point even to the point had Amnesty International calling for a moratorium on capital punishment.

Yet in this case, Amnesty, the UNHCR, the Human Rights Council (HRC) even who was so loud about Eric Paulsen, are quiet.

I guess they are a pressure group with their own agendas.

So I have to ask. Is it because they are too high profile for you to take the case, or is it because there is a level of hypocrisy even within these NGOs when it comes to calling out against the death penalty because of who they are?

I’ll wait for them to talk. But I won’t hold my breath.

I am for the death penalty through a court of law. I’ve never had any qualms telling people about it. And let me emphasise I said a court of law before someone reacts with the simple tit-for-tat of extremists and terrorists.

But I am honestly quizzed by the fact that the same people who believe in the freedom of speech, supporting it to their very core as part of human rights, have remained silent on this issue.

This all being said, however, Malaysian laws are archaic and our citizenry is still stuck in believing government knows best especially when it comes to laws. The Sedition Act, the Official Secrets Act and even the Internal Security Act are such cases, and so are our religious laws. These require review and abolishing where it does not apply to the Malaysia of today.

Similarly, laws relating to drug offences as well require review.

Even our Penal Code requires review, particularly Section 377 because why on Earth are we criminalising what people do in their personal spaces if they don’t record it and put it on YouTube or Pornhub.

It goes back to what Malaysia believes in. Do we as a majority believe that the value of a life is repayable by taking another?

Do we believe in the concept of an eye for an eye will actually make you go blind, or do we throw that to the wind because we hate these particular people?

I think Malaysians need to think about deeply about this particular issue, because it is an international cause that determines what kind of society we wish to be.

And I’m also keeping an eye out on those so-called “liberal” advocates and NGO leaders on what they are saying about this, because this is where you can see the true hypocrisy of their stances.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.