tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281310972024-03-08T14:40:57.853-08:00MADPET-Malaysians Against Death Penalty and TortureMADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) advocate and campaign for the abolition of Death Penalty and all forms of Torture. MADPET has always been actively against, amongst others, torture, police abuse of powers, deaths in police custody and the shoot to kill attitude of the police . MADPET strives for greater protection to ensure a fair trial and is totally in support for the formation of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-22454661715961241802011-03-11T05:23:00.000-08:002011-03-11T05:23:17.090-08:00Malaysia: Government Reveals Nearly 30,000 Foreigners Caned (2005-2010)<div class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Amnesty Trade Gothic";">AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Amnesty Trade Gothic";"> PRESS RELEASE</span></span></u></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Amnesty Trade Gothic"; font-size: 24pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Amnesty Trade Gothic"; font-size: 10pt;">11 March 2011</span></i><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Amnesty Trade Gothic"; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Malaysia</b><b>: Government Reveals Nearly 30,000 Foreigners Caned</b></span></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Malaysia should immediately halt the judicial caning of refugees and migrants, Amnesty International said after the government disclosed that almost 30,000 foreigners had been caned in five years. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a response to a parliamentary question on 9 March, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein disclosed that <b style="color: red;">Malaysia had caned 29,759 foreigners between 2005 and 2010 for immigration offences alone</b>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>“The government’s figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia Pacific director at Amnesty International. “This is a practice which is absolutely prohibited under international law, no matter what the circumstances.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">“As a first step, the Malaysian government has to immediately declare a moratorium on this brutal practice.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Amnesty International also called for a complete abolition of all forms or corporal punishment, which constitutes torture or other ill-treatment.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">In December 2010, Amnesty International published an in-depth investigation into judicial caning in Malaysia. In each of the 57 cases it examined, Amnesty International found that the caning amounted to torture, as the authorities had intentionally inflicted severe pain and suffering through the punishment of caning.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">While most countries have abolished judicial caning, Malaysia has expanded the practice. Parliament has increased the number of offenses subject to caning to more than 60.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Since 2002, when Parliament amended the Immigration Act 1959/63 to make immigration violations such as illegal entry subject to caning, tens of thousands of refugees and migrant workers have been caned. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">At least 60 per cent of the 29,759 foreigners caned were Indonesians, according to Liew Chin Tong, the parliamentarian who submitted the question. In March 2010, Amnesty International documented how unchecked abuses by unscrupulous labour agents led to many migrant workers losing their legal immigration status and thus being subject to caning.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Refugees are also caned for immigration violations in Malaysia. Since Malaysia has not yet ratified the UN Refugee Convention, asylum seekers are often arrested and prosecuted as illegal migrants. Burmese refugees in Malaysia have told Amnesty International how they live in fear after being caned. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people from other Asian countries to torture and other ill-treatment,” said Sam Zarifi. “Indonesia, which chairs the Association of South East Asian Nations and its human rights Commission this year, must press Malaysia to stop caning their citizens.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">Public Document </span></i></span></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">**************************************** </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK </span></span></i></span></div>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-83343236315198386262007-08-14T07:29:00.000-07:002007-08-14T07:30:32.562-07:00Mat Taib inciting ‘explosive' racial riots?<table style="width: 336px; height: 1077px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td><span id="uTitle" class="t">Mat Taib inciting ‘explosive' racial riots?</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="a" width="50%"><span id="uByLine">Andrew Ong & Hon Yi Wen<br />Aug 14, 07 3:43pm</span></td> <td class="fs" align="right" width="40%"><br /></td> <td align="center" width="5%"><br /></td> <td align="center" width="5%"><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding-top: 5px;"> <div id="uBody" name="uBody" class="b"><span id="uBody">Is Umno information chief Muhammad Muhd Taib inciting the recurrence of racial riots on a scale not seen since May 13, 1969? Two NGOs certainly believe so.<br /><br /><img style="width: 320px; height: 212px;" alt="" src="http://images.malaysiakini.com/4/93/23390.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="212" hspace="7" width="320" />Their representatives lodged separate reports against him this morning at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.<br /><br />Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) referred to Muhammad’s remarks during a press conference on Sunday, after the Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting.<br /><br />According to a report in <em>The Sun</em> yesterday, Muhammad had warned that riots could break out if no action is taken against those who touch on racial and religious sensitivities via the Internet.<br /><br />“Do we want the situation to come to the level that is more explosive than May 13?” he was quoted as saying.<br /><br /><img src="http://images.malaysiakini.com/2/66/16657.jpg" align="left" height="64" hspace="5" width="64" />Lawyer N Surendran, speaking for Madpet, said Muhammad (<em>photo</em>), now a senator, wields considerable influence and that his comments cannot be taken lightly.<br /><br />“His statement implied that another May 13 type incident might occur and this time more serious and explosive,” said Surendran in his police report.<br /><br />Speaking to reporters later, he urged the police to take immediate action against Muhammad in view of their speedy investigations and eight-hour marathon <strong><a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/70345" target="_blank">interrogation</a></strong> of blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.<br /><br /><img src="http://images.malaysiakini.com/2/91/22943.jpg" align="left" height="64" hspace="5" width="64" />Dang Wangi police called in Raja Petra for questioning within two days of Muhammad lodging a report against him for allegedly seditious <strong><a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/70252" target="_blank">postings</a></strong> on the <em>Malaysia Today</em> website. His wife Marina Lee Abdullah was subsequently questioned as well.<br /><br />He was the second blogger to be investigated following an Umno <strong><a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/70510" target="_blank">diatribe</a></strong> against online dissidents. Blogger Nathaniel Tan had been remanded for four days last month.<br /><br />In the other police report - also against Muhammad’s remarks - the Group of Concerned Citizens said many of the issues raised by so-called online dissidents warrant attention, not threats.<br /><br /><img style="width: 219px; height: 146px;" alt="" src="http://images.malaysiakini.com/1/93/23295.gif" align="right" border="0" height="146" hspace="7" width="219" />Spokesperson Charles Santiago cited the example of Taiwan-based Malaysian student Wee Meng Chee who had been critical of the government and police in a <strong><a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/71059" target="_blank">music video</a></strong> posted online.<br /><br />“The inefficiency of the civil service, (alleged) corruption in the police force and plight of vernacular school students are issues that have to be looked into,” Santiago said.<br /><br />“Wee should not be threatened for raising these... Is the government so fragile that it cannot take criticism from young people?”<br /><br />Umno politicians have demanded an apology for Muar-born Wee, who has also faced intimidation in the form of calls to detain him under the Internal Security Act or to be charged with sedition.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-18201979784982985392007-07-29T23:58:00.000-07:002007-07-30T00:26:49.763-07:00Time to ABOLISH WHIPPING in MALAYSIA<table style="width: 674px; height: 25px;" class="contentpaneopen"><tbody><tr><td class="contentheading" width="100%"> How did this video 'escape' from the prison? </td> <td class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%"> <a href="javascript:void window.open('http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10126&Itemid=2&pop=1&page=0', 'win2', 'status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=640,height=480,directories=no,location=no');" title="Print"> <br /> </a> </td> <td class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%"> <a href="javascript:void window.open('http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=10126', 'win2', 'status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=400,height=250,directories=no,location=no');" title="E-mail"> <br /> </a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table style="width: 358px; height: 270px;" class="contentpaneopen"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" class="createdate" valign="top"> Saturday, 28 July 2007, 12:23pm </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p align="justify"><b><a border="new" target="new" href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5ab_1172940415"><img src="http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/images/stories/articles/caning-1.jpg" alt="How this video gets out of prison?" title="How this video gets out of prison?" align="left" border="1" height="165" hspace="6" width="200" /></a>KUALA LUMPUR:</b> A video has been posted on the internet since March 3 this year showing how a prisoner was caned with rotan until his skins split with blood.</p> <p align="justify">Entitled: "<i>Malaysia Caning Judicial Corporal Punishment</i>" and captioned "<i>This link was posted by one of our fellow leakers. Thought it was pretty good, but does anyone know what happened to cause this?</i>", the video did not reveal the location of the prison and the time it was taken.</p> <p align="justify">However, the prison grounds appear to be in Malaysia looking at the uniform worn by the officers. It also appears that those present were aware that the whole episode was being filmed.</p> <p align="justify">It is quite a gory scene, and please do not click on the <b> <a target="new" href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5ab_1172940415">link</a></b> if you find it offensive.</p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">**taken from the Malaysian Bar website</span></span><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table><embed src="http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="autostart=false&token=5ab_1172940415" scale="showall" name="index" height="370" width="450"></embed>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-1167936199603848892007-01-04T10:42:00.000-08:002007-01-04T10:43:20.203-08:00Video of Saddam Hussein being executed<table xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td colspan="2"><embed flashvars="" id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-7532034279766935521&hl=en" style="width:400px; height:326px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed></td></tr><tr/><tr><td>Originally posted as a link in the Malaysian Bar website </td></tr></table>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-1147705478514832322006-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:002006-05-15T08:04:38.613-07:00OPPOSE DEATH PENALTY FOR WATER OFFENCES<span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">OPPOSE DEATH PENALTY FOR WATER OFFENCES</span><br /></span><br />MADPET (MALAYSIANS AGAINST DEATH PENALTY AND TORTURE) calls for the immediate removal of the clauses imposing the death penalty in the Water Services Industry Bill 2006, which came up for second reading in Parliament today(10/5/2006).<br /><br />Section 121, under Part X : General Offences and Penalties of this Bill, which deals with the offence of water contamination provides that “…a person who contaminates or causes to be contaminated any watercourse or the water supply system or any part of the watercourse or water supply system with any substance (a) with the intention to cause death; (b) with the knowledge that he is likely to cause death; or (c) which would likely endanger the life of any person ….[and]… where death results shall be punished with death or imprisonment…”</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>The Malaysian Bar, a body representing over 12,000 Malaysian lawyers, at its 60th Annual General Meeting held on 18/3/2006 passed a Resolution calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia, an immediate moratorium on all executions pending abolition and the commutation of the sentences of all persons currently on death row.</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>It must be pointed out that a recent television poll done by RTM 2 during the Hello on Two programme on 7/5/2006 showed that 64% of Malaysians are for the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia. This program has an estimated audience of 80,000. It is thus important that members of Parliament, the representatives of the people respond to the aspirations of Malaysians and remove the death penalty from the Water Bill and all other laws of Malaysia.<br /></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>It is ironic that at a time when the nations of the world are rapidly moving towards abolition of the death penalty, Malaysia is once again unnecessarily and imprudently extending the range of capital offences. An average of three countries have abolished the death penalty each year over the last decade 122 countries have abolished capital punishment in law or practice as opposed to 74 countries which retain the death penalty. </strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>We therefore call on all Parliamentarians, from both the Barisan National ruling coalition and the Opposition, who value human rights, justice and mercy to immediately cause the removal of the provisions that provide for the sentence of death.<br /><br />N. Surendran<br />Salbiah Ahmad<br />Charles Hector<br />for Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET) </strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>10th May 2006</strong></span>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-1148698768675432052006-05-01T19:55:00.000-07:002007-07-30T00:31:18.809-07:00MADPET(19/2/2005):STOP ABUSE OF POWER BY ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >STOP ABUSE OF POWER BY ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS</span><br /><br />We are sickened by news report that Simpang Rengam District Council enforcement officers entered a private premise and brutally killed a dog, the family pet, in front of the family. The helpless animal which was a beloved family pet of 6 children was killed with shocking cruelty. Siau Mau, as it was lovingly called by the children was shot and then bludgeoned to death.<br /><br />We view with grave concern the increasing instances of enforcement officials who abuse their power and easily resort to the use of guns.<br /><br />In a notorious incident in Penang in mid- January, Yeoh Yew Jin, a 19 year old alleged VCD seller was shot in the chest by enforcement personnel. The shot also injured a 52 year old innocent by-stander having his dinner at a nearby coffee shop.<br /><br />Despite a public outcry following this incident, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made a poorly reasoned decision to continue to allow enforcement officers to bear firearms.<br /><br />His decision showed a disturbing lack of sensitivity to the interest and safety of the general public and is inconsistent with his professed people friendly and transparent administration.<br /><br />We are further shocked that the Simpang Rengam District Council enforcement officers had abused their power by trespassing into a private citizens home and destroying private property.<br /><br />We call upon the authorities to take swift and stern action against those involved in this shameful incident. There must be no hesitation to charge in court those guilty of wrongdoing for cruelty to an animal, criminal trespass and destruction of private property.<br /><br />We also call upon the Prime Minister to re-consider his decision to allow enforcement officers to carry arms as it is not certain that they are able to bear this responsibility without endangering the Malaysian public.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">N. Surendran</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Charles Hector</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">for Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">19th February 2005</span>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28131097.post-1147791010683891472006-03-19T07:45:00.000-08:002006-05-16T07:56:53.803-07:00MALAYSIAN BAR FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY<div align="center"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>RESOLUTION OF THE MALAYSIAN BAR FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY<br /></strong></span><em>(which was adopted at the 60th AGM of the Malaysian Bar on 18/3/2006) </em></span></div><div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>WHEREAS every human being has the inherent right to life;</strong> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>WHEREAS Malaysia has hanged at least 358 persons between 1981 and 2005; </strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>WHEREAS about 173 persons are on death row as at December 2005;<br /><br />WHEREAS :<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>a) studies conducted throughout the world over the past seventy years have failed to find convincing evidence that capital punishment is a more effective deterrent of crime than long-term imprisonment;<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>b) studies conducted in Australia show that abolition of the death penalty had no effect on the homicide rate and in Canada there in fact was a sharp decline in the homicide rate after abolition;<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>c) in the United States over the past twenty years, states with the death penalty in general have had a higher homicide rate than states without the death penalty;<br /><br />WHEREAS on the other hand the execution of human beings by the State gives an ‘example of barbarity’ to society and legitimizes the taking of human life;<br /><br />WHEREAS Malaysia lacks safeguards that would ensure a fair trial such as the right to immediate access to a lawyer upon arrest, right to full disclosure of evidence in the possession of the police and prosecution, and has to the extreme prejudice of accused persons loaded a capital crime statute such as the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 ( which generates the largest number of death sentences annually ) with presumptions of trafficking that compromise the presumption of innocence which is integral to any fair and just criminal justice system;<br /><br />WHEREAS:<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>a) it is not possible in any system of human justice to prevent the horrifying possibility of the execution of innocent persons; and<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>b) the infliction of the death penalty makes wrongful convictions irreversible;<br /><br />WHEREAS :<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>a) 122 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice as opposed to 74 countries which retain the death penalty;<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>b) An average of three countries have abolished the death penalty each year over the last decade;<br /></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong>c) the trend worldwide has been for the abolition of the death penalty;<br /><br />WHEREAS the UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2005/59 passed in 2005 calls upon all states to abolish the death penalty and states that the abolition of the death penalty is essential for the protection of the right to life of every human being;<br /><br />WHEREAS Article 1 of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that ‘ No one within the jurisdiction of a State party to the present Optional Protocol shall be executed ’.<br /><br />WHEREAS the death penalty has no place in any society which values human rights, justice and mercy;<br /><br />NOW IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the <span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">Malaysian Bar calls for the:<br /></span></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">1) Abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia;<br /></span></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">2) An immediate moratorium on all executions pending abolition;<br /></span></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">3) Commutation of the sentences of all persons currently on death row;<br /></span></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">4) Ratification by Malaysia of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).<br /></span></div></strong></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Proposers: N.Surendran , Charles Hector, Amer Hamzah Arshad, Sreekant Pillai<br /><br /></strong>* the facts and statistics relied on here are from Professor Roger Hood’s The Death Penalty( A Worldwide Perspective) OUP 2002, Amnesty International and statistics released by the Government of Malaysia.<br /></span></em></div></span>Charles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.com0