Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary— General for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at the launching of the Save Condemned Sim Kie Chon mass signature campaign in Ipoh on Friday, 2.8. 1985 at 9 a.m.
Call on Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed to help secure the pardon of Sim Kie Chon in the way Tunku Abdul Rahman helped secure the pardon of the 13 Condemned because of Indonesian Confrontation in l968
The DAP calls on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, to intervene and help secure the pardon of Sim Kie Chon and the commutation of his death penalty to life imprisonment.
Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir has a precedent to follow in this regard, as in 1968, the then Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman helped secure the reprieve of death penalty of 13 condemned because of the Indonesian Confrontation in 1965.
The reprieve of death penalty of Sim Kie Chon would save Malaysia from the international condemnation of a country which practises double standards, where a Minister could kill another person without having to die while an ordinary citizen who possesses a firearm unlawfully must pay the supreme penalty of death.
If Sim Kie Chon is executed, Malaysians will not be able to hold their head high in the world, for Malaysia would be considered in international circles as a barbaric, uncivilised ad unjust country.
Over 4,000 Chinese guilds, clans associations arid societies should join in the Petition of Mercy for Sim Kie Chon
I am glad that the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, the Johore and Malacca Chinese Chambers of Commerce, and a few other organisations had publicly appealed for clemency for Sim Kie Chon. The over 4,000 Chinese guilds, clans, associations and societies should imndiate1y acid their voices to the nation—wide appeal for the reprieve of Sun’s death sentence.
Only the people, by making their collective appeals and wishes known, could save Sim Kie Chon, as the 13 condemned in 1968 because of Indonesian Confrontation and the Penang 14—year—old boy who was sentenced to death in 1977 were saved by the people.
I have no doubt Sim Kie Chong would not have been sentenced to death if he had been charged under a law where the judge have the discretion to pass sentence according to the gravity of the offence. For this reason, I call on the Attorney—General, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman, to explain why he certified Sim’s case as a ‘security case’- which carried the mandatory death sentence on conviction, as there is no evidence on record in the Courts that Sim was involved in subversive activity or organised violence.
The Attorney- General wields arbitrary powers of ‘life and death’ over en accused even before he was charged and tried. This is because by deciding whether to certify an case as ‘security case’ which carries the mandatory death penalty on conviction, the Attorney—General was making apolicy decision that the accused should die.
These ‘life and death’ powers are too vast to be handled b one person, who is subject to no check or balance. For this reason, the Attorney- General should publicly disclose the full list of the cases which he had certified as ‘security cases’, the critiera for such certificate, the outcome of their appeals for pardon where they had been convicted and sentenced mandatorily to death. The Attorney- Generel’s life—and—death powers must be subject to public review end scrutiny if we are not to end up with the Attorney-General playing the triple role of Judge, Jury and Prosecutors.