Malaysian man who wrote songs in Singapore prison in danger of execution amid appeal for Putrajaya’s intervention

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A 37-year-old man is at risk of becoming the latest Malaysian citizen to be executed under Singapore’s controversial drug laws, which have been criticised for victimising many drug mules from poor families.

Pannir Selvam Pranthaman is facing “imminent execution”, according to his former lawyer M Ravi, some six years after he received a stay of execution just hours before he was scheduled to be hanged on May 24, 2019. 

Pannir remains on Singapore’s death row despite pleas from global rights group Amnesty International to the Malaysian authorities to intervene.

Ravi called on the public to increase pressure on the Malaysian government.

“Pannir has exhausted all legal means and could be executed at any time! Sign the petition to urge the Malaysian authorities to intervene,” the prominent Singapore rights activist said, referring to a campaign launched by Amnesty in October last year.

Amnesty had said Pannir’s case was riddled with several violations of international human rights law and standards.

“The death penalty was imposed as the mandatory sentence, which meant that the judge could not take into account the particular circumstances of the offence or of his background. The judge found that Pannir had acted as a ‘courier’ as he only transported the drugs,” it said.

However, a spokesman for the Malaysian chapter of Amnesty International said that Pannir had not received any execution notice although he was “at risk of receiving the notice any day now”.

Pannir was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking 51.84g of diamorphine at Woodlands Checkpoint in 2014.

During his time in Changi Prison, he had written two songs, joining hands with popular local names in fighting against the death penalty.

His first song, “Arah Tuju”, was performed by singer Santesh Kumar, best known for his 2014 Malay single “Amalina”.

His second song, “Bukan Sekadar Hikayat”, sung by local Indian rapper Samson Thomas, was released in 2021.

In November 2021, the Court of Appeal rejected Pannir’s final bid to commute the death sentence.

It came a month after the Malaysian government under then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as well as the then Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, wrote to the Singaporean authorities asking for leniency for Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian who had been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and who was sentenced to death for trafficking 43g – about three tablespoons – of heroin.

Nagaenthran was eventually executed in April 2022.

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