28 April 2022

Press statement by Wanita MCA Secretary General Saw Ooi Ling

Wanita MCA mourns with the family of the late Nagaenthran Dharmalingam

In the early morning of 27 April 2022, Malaysian citizen Nagaenthran Dharmalingam who has been on death row for more than a decade after being found guilty by the courts in Singapore for trafficking 42.72 grams of heroin into the island republic, was executed by hanging – This, despite having an IQ of 69, a level recognised as a disability.

Efforts to save his life met a dead end when the Republic, which enforces one of the toughest narcotics laws in the world, upheld all earlier guilty verdicts despite multiple appeals for clemency.

Wanita MCA shares in the grief of the deceased’s mother Panchalai Supermaniam and all her family members who definitely are in a state of anguish and mourning. We extend our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to them.

Upset and saddened by this news, we empathise with the feelings of a mother whose child has predeceased her under such circumstances. No words of comfort will be able to bring back Nagaenthran.

In a last-ditch bid to save her son from the gallows, Panchalai had filed a criminal motion in Singapore’s Court of Appeal to challenge the legality of previous judgments on the grounds of conflict of interest. However, her legal challenge was dismissed with the said Court of Appeal ruling that the criminal motion filed by Panchalai Supermaniam appeared to be a “calculated attempt” to diminish the finality of the court process.

Efforts by Malaysia to save Nagaenthran’s life
In Parliament, Deputy Foreign Minister reported that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had written to the Singapore president for the sentence to be reduced for a certain case, or the individual to be freed. The media also reported that on Nov 7, 2021, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had similarly written a letter to his counterpart from Singapore Lee Hsien Loong requesting for leniency in the case. However, on December 3, 2021, Singapore President Halimah Yacob replied Nagaenthran had been given the due legal process.

Malaysia has done its best in appealing to the Singaporean authorities to spare Nagaenthran’s life. But at the same time, we also have to abide by the law in Singapore.

Learning from a life lost
May the experience that extinguished the life of the late Nagaenthran serve as a lesson for all Malaysians.

Wanita MCA is concerned that if our own citizens inadvertently or naively end up as drug mules through sheer ignorance or without a shred of awareness of the goods found on them, the exact harsh sentence will be meted out to them if found guilty.

Therefore, all quarters need to be vigilant. Narcotics and masterminds of this illicit trade are indeed the main enemies of this country.

We hope all parties involved can help smoothen the process of bringing back Nagaenthran’s remains.

Wanita MCA also hopes that the mother and next of kin of the departed will find the strength to persevere and be stoic in these coming days.

Saw Ooi Ling

Wanita MCA Secretary General

-MCA Online-