IREFER to your report “Mandatory death penalty on way out” (NST, June 23). The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as punishment for a crime.
I feel we will be sorry if we abolish the mandatory death penalty like we did the Internal Security Act.
Today, murderers do not kill their victims by stabbing, strangling or beating them to death, but by shooting them with a gun or bombing them at close range.
Do we want to see more innocent people being decapitated by the Islamic State (IS) terrorists? How do we deal with these murderers when they are caught? Should we put them in prison for life, and feed and clothe them at great expense? The IS threat is real and coming closer to home.
I feel Malaysia should not bow to international criticism or pressure to abolish this so-called “draconian law”, as countries like the United States, Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore still retain the death penalty.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Commission and World Congress Against the Death Penalty should not only single out Malaysia, but should also put pressure on all the countries in the world to abolish capital punishment.
The death penalty, according to these social activists, is cruel and inhuman, but is it human for anyone to chop off an innocent person’s head without even an appeal or trial? Are they more concerned about the murderers’ heads than the heads of the victims?
It would be regrettable for any country to abolish the death penalty, especially with the IS threat.
IS has vowed to use any means to kill, especially non-believers.
This is a serious threat and the government should safeguard the people by retaining the mandatory death sentence for first-degree murder, treason, espionage and declaring war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for maintaining law and order. It is certainly a deterrent for would-be murderers and will cost less than life imprisonment.
It is natural for people to demand justice when their loved ones are murdered in cold blood. Since the country has the death penalty, let it be and leave it to the courts to decide on the fate of murderers. After all, not all murderers are sentenced to death.
Condemned prisoners are allowed to appeal against their sentences to the highest court in the country and to state Pardons Board, where the sultan or Yang di-Pertuan Agong will determine their fate.
NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR, Petaling Jaya, Selangor