There are 9 drug related Malaysian prisoners in death-row in the Changgi Prison in Singapore at the moment. All awaiting their appeals and if the Singaporean courts rejects their appeal, its game-over for them.
Despite having the strictest drug trafficking laws in the world, why would these traffickers knowingly try their luck as mules and couriers to smuggle those illegal substances into the tiny but rank 4th. least corrupt nation in the world (tied with Sweden and Norway and according to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index(CPI) 2021) and Malaysia is ranked 62 out of a 180 countries (a surprising figure in the same report, if I may say so!) for love of monetary rewards? Yes, the lure of making fast and easy big money is irresistible. And the greed consumes these mules or traffickers into taking that risk. All in death row will swear on the holy book it was their first offense BUT how would we know how many successful trips they would have delivered their merchandise and collected huge returns? How many children turned out as addicts in Singapore? And these same mules will also now plead insanity as a final resort?
Now in Malaysia we have 1,042 in death-row including 413 foreign nationals. (I can't say how many are for drug related crimes) Does it not reek of hypocrisy when so many Malaysians and NGOs are joining in protesting the death verdicts dished out in Singapore by their courts when they don't give a rats arse of the same sentences being passed out here like sweets? Perhaps these fakes and frauds feel up-lifted to be in the same protest as Sir Richard Branson and some Hollywood personality joining in the same cause?
Let me ask you a question. Do you have a drug dependent member in your family? Simply put, an addict or junkie with serious drug problems? If you don't, good and thank your God for that. But do you know of someone who has a junkie in theirs? Have you spoken to them about that one child of theirs who turned out a junkie? Did you ask how they are coping? Once a child of teenage age is a junkie, chances are he/she is either kicked out of the house or he/she chooses to live off the streets scrapping from dustbins and stealing anything they can get their hands on to sell and support their daily addiction. I am talking of the ordinary person's child and not the children of the ultra-rich with strong political connections. A ride around the back roads of Chow Kit will give you a general idea of what I'm talking about. Parents who cry every night to sleep thinking how their kid got into this habit of drug abuse. Blaming and cursing others will not suppress their torment. A child who steals money from pockets and purses of parents or steal anything from their house to sell to maintain their addiction? The family is shattered and broken and nothing can stop their grief of having a stray child.
Yet recently in Ipoh, the funeral of one such mule was given a hero's burial with much celebration. Only one other rogue on the same token, (I digress here and it's not drug related!) who is still alive and free is given an even more carnival-like pomp for stealing insane amounts running in the billions from the rakyat's coffers and seemingly treated like a king is Najib the ex-premier and a convicted felon.
It just begs questions on where our morals compass points and the future of this country is heading when so many idol-worship criminals, drug dealers and gangsters as role models!
Perhaps the parents of these death-row mules and all NGOs who protest to end the Mandatory Death for Drug Trafficking laws (I'm not against their protests because its their absolute right, even as I agree to disagree, to their cause) should go and seek forgiveness from all those families whose lives and families have been displaced and hearts broken because their child became a junkie!
*I do apologise for the long absence from active blogging but today being Labour Day let me salute those who do an honest days work and have perfect families to celebrate with. Cheers!
