Civil Society

Following the announcement made by Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong regarding the Cabinet's decision to abolish the death penalty, Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said that the Government will be reviewing the death penalty in relation to drug abuse. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (13 Nov), Mr Liew noted that the death penalty …

The Singapore government’s use of overly broad criminal laws, oppressive regulations, and civil lawsuits severely curtails freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. “Singapore promotes itself as a modern nation and a good place to do business, but people in a country that calls itself a democracy shouldn’t be afraid to criticize their …

The Nature Society Singapore (NSS) has released a 16-page position paper calling for more land to be set aside for wildlife at the new forest-town of Tengah. Specifically, NSS is asking that a total of 220ha of land at two ends of the 700ha site be preserved as a refuge for animals. Accepting that the proposal will reduce the number …

Statement by local anti-death penalty non-government organisations, We Believe in Second Chances and Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign We strongly urge the Singapore government to halt the execution of Prabu N Pathmanathan, a Malaysian convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore, scheduled to be carried out on Friday 26 October at dawn. Prabu was convicted for committing several acts preparatory to and for …

New York City-based literary non-profit Singapore Unbound has called upon Singaporean writers to explicitly condemn and to petition against the imprisonment of artist Seelan Palay, which it has deemed to be "an attack on free speech." Founder Koh Jee Leong declared in a public statement on Monday (22 Oct) that "the right is enshrined not only in the European and …

Statement by MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) to welcome the announcement that the Malaysian Cabinet has finally decided to abolish the death penalty, and that the needed Bill will be tabled at the next Parliamentary session, now scheduled to begin on 15/10/2018. In the evening of 10 October 2018, the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty, it …

Gender equality group AWARE released a statement recently applauding the repeal of marital immunity for rape and the decriminalisation of suicide in its submission to the public consultation on the Penal Code review. To increase reporting of sexual crimes, the group recommended comprehensive education for the public, professionals and all officials in the criminal justice system, and a clear definition …

At a private town hall discussion on 30th September, members of the ‘Ready4Repeal’ movement said that Singapore’s anti-gay law will be repealed in due course. The question is when, not if. The petition which was authored by filmmaker Glen Goei and legal trainee Johannes Hadi called for the removal of Section 377A of the penal code which criminalises sex between …

by Augustine Low One side calls the other out for moral corruption and degradation. The other side points the finger at hypocrisy and self-righteousness. When there are two vigorous opposing sides to Section 377A of the Penal Code, things can get pretty polarising. And the “government is in the middle,” according to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam. How …

Civil rights activist Jolovan Wham has called into question the transparency - or a lack thereof - in the police force's investigations, particularly with regards to extracting information and confessions from individuals being interrogated. He highlighted a particular instance during the second day of his trial today (2 Oct) in which his lawyer had cross-examined a police officer involved in …