FAR-RIGHT Malay group Perkasa today stated their opposition to the government’s proposal to abolish a series of draconian laws it had promised to in its election manifesto, including the Sedition Act 1948 and the death penalty.

Perkasa claimed their abolition would impede the government’s efforts to fight serious crimes.

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali said apart from the negative effect, doing away with the laws would also have a social impact, as it would cost money to feed criminals in prison.

“For the last 30 years, the government had spent RM575 million on 1,281 prisoners on death row,” Ibrahim said in a media conference at Perkasa’s headquarters today.

He also appealed to the Malaysian public to support Perkasa’s online petition to retain the death penalty. 

The amount to feed the prisoners, he said, amounted to RM41 a day.

Ibrahim said the Pakatan Harapan government should not bow to the pressure of “minority human rights groups”, claiming “the majority of Malaysians” are against the abolition of the death penalty.

He named the “minority groups” as the Bar Council, Lawyers for Liberty and individual lawyers for pressuring the government to abolish the death penalty.

Ibarhim claimed 80% of Malaysians want the death penalty retained.

He said the abolition of the death penalty would further embolden the criminals “as these prisoners are not afraid (of being hanged if convicted) and they know they will be taken care of while in prison”.

Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on June 3 announced a special committee to review draconian laws with the aim to repealing them.

The committee is chaired by Home Ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim. – December 10, 2018.