Anti-Death Penalty Week of Action

This year, Amnesty International Malaysia will be marking World Day Against the Death Penalty with a virtual week of action.

Events will be held on Zoom, featuring a virtual webinar, workshop and a film screening on the death penalty. Learn from activists, listen to stories of the effects of the death penalty on individuals, families & communities. Let’s get into conversation, listen, learn and re-ignite the campaign to abolish the death penalty in Malaysia.

Members Discussion: Preparing for the Week*

Date: 4 October 2020 (Sun)
Time: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErcu-grT0uGdP8MuGyNbhLp9eS3wKksbz9

This Sunday, Amnesty International Malaysia will be hosting a participatory consultation and brainstorming session to prepare our members to engage meaningfully with the Anti-Death Penalty Week of Action. Join us to share ideas and strategies for how local groups, clubs and members can be mobilised and support the Week of  Action on social media.

* Members only


Webinar: Learning from Death Penalty Abolition Activists

Date: 10 October 2020 (Sat)
Time: 3:00PM – 4:30PM

Register herehttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9RXnWkiiSXGuKtCrKpffhg

Join us in this dialogue between four death penalty abolition activists. In a conversation-style format led by a moderator, panelists will discuss how they got involved with death penalty abolition, their journey as activists, opposition and backlash they faced, advice for other activists, and how they think the death penalty campaign in Malaysia can grow.

Our panellists are:

  • Angelia Pranthaman (Anti-death penalty activist)
  • Chow Ying Ngeow (:awyer, KLSCAH Civil Rights Committee Vice-Chair)
  • Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu (Forum Asia Executive Director)
  • Kirsten Han (Journalist and founding member of We Believe in Second Chances)

Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto will be delivering the keynote speech, and will also be available for the Q&A session. Simultaneous translation will be provided for in BM.

3.00PM-3.05PM : Introduction from AIM
3.05PM-3.15PM : MP Kasthuri Patto to give introductory remarks
3.15PM-3.20PM : Introduce panellists
3.20PM-4.10PM : Panel discussion
4.00PM-4.30PM : Audience questions

Angelia Pranthaman is currently a self-employed life insurance agent. She advocates for the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia and Asia. She is currently campaigning to save her brother, Pannir Selvam, and other death row inmates inside Changi Prison, Singapore. Her cause has led her to collaborate with various prominent legal figures, organisations, lawyers, and artists.

Ngeow Chow Ying is a practicing lawyer in Malaysia. Vice President of the Civil Rights Committee of the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Chow Ying started her advocacy on the abolition of the death penalty 10 years ago, with a campaign for clemency for a young Malaysian sentenced to death in Singapore for drug trafficking. She was a member of the Executive Committee of Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) from 2015 to 2019 and has represented ADPAN at various international conferences.

Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu joined the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) in March 2020 as its Executive Director and is currently based in Bangkok. Prior, she was with Amnesty International Malaysia as its Executive Director, a position she held between June 2013 and February 2020. Shamini is a Chevening scholar, and has a Master of Science in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London.

Kirsten Han is a Singaporean freelance journalist, an anti-death penalty activist, and curator of the newsletter We, The Citizens. Her work often revolves around the themes of social justice, human rights, politics and democracy, with by-lines in publications like The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Foreign Policy. She received an Honourable Mention from the World Justice Project’s Anthony Lewis Prize for Exceptional Rule of Law Journalism in 2018, and a Human Rights Press Award for her commentaries on “fake news” and freedom of expression in 2019. Her essay, “The Silhouette of Oppression”, was published by Epigram Books in 2019.

YB Kasthuri Patto is the incumbent Member of Parliament for Batu Kawan, Penang since 2013. She is the International Secretary for DAP Women, Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee for Human Rights and Gender Equality, and Secretary for Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). She is a strong proponent for human rights, gender equality and the abolition of the death penalty.

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Workshop: Death Penalty 101

Date: 11 October 2020 (Sun)
Time: 3:00PM – 5:00PM

Registration: Application required, applicants will receive a response within 2 days: 

This workshop is a crash course in understanding the issues around the death penalty. It will include:

  • A brief historical background of the death penalty in Malaysia   
  • Key issues, flaws of the death penalty and their consequences (challenging the notion of ‘death penalty as justice’, wrongful convictions, the impact on marginalised communities, etc.)
  • Legal pathways for death penalty abolition in Malaysia

The workshop will be conducted by lawyer Abdul Rashid Ismail. Brian Yap, AI-M’s Research Consultant will also present an overview of death penalty statistics in Malaysia.

3.00PM-3.10PM : Introduction of session, facilitator
3.10PM-4.30PM : Workshop
4.30PM-4.40PM : Summary of AIM report findings
4.40PM-5.00PM : Q&A

Abdul Rashid Ismail has been in legal practice for over 20 years at the Malaysian Bar. He has represented individuals facing the death sentence and on death row at every level of the legal system including the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. Rashid holds a master’s degree in international human rights law from University of Oxford. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy at the same university, researching the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia. He is the former President of the National Human Rights Society of Malaysia (HAKAM). Rashid also served as the Expert Advisor for the Special Committee to Review Alternative Sentences to the Mandatory Death Penalty.

Members Discussion: Strategising for Hoo Yew Wah*

Date: 15 Oct 2020
Time: 8:00PM-9:00PM
Register here:
 https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0lc-yrpz8jH9Q3Mqkt_bwfSMt5CfqSZDe8

Members will be re-introduced to the case of Hoo Yew Wah, a young man who has been on death row for over a decade. Amnesty International Malaysia has been working on his case for almost three years, including strong involvement of AI-M members in the campaign in 2018, and in Write for Rights in 2019. In this session, we will strategise with members about the next steps in this campaign, and brainstorm ways to mobilise more support from the public. The Youth Committee will lead a short discussion on ways to engage the youth.

* Members only

Tayangan Filem dalam talian: “Menunggu Masa”

Hari/Tarikh: Sabtu,17 October 2020
Masa: 3:00PM – 4:30PM

Daftar sinihttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_38t0wjX0QBm6fRPtYhNf4Q

Minggu Aksi Pemansuhan Hukuman Mati akan ditutup dengan sebuah tayangan filem dalam talian, “Menunggu Masa”. Ia merupakan sebuah dokumentari yang dibuat oleh peguam dan pembikin filem Seira Sacha Abu Bakar dan Sherrie Razak pada tahun 2018 mengenai kes Mainthan a/l Arumugam.

Sebuah perbincangan panel Zoom akan diadakan selepas penayangan filem dengan seorang ahli keluarga Mainthan dan Sherrie Razak. Mereka akan berkongsi pengalaman mereka dalam kes tersebut, dan kesan-kesan hukuman mati terhadap masyarakat yang terpiggir dan berpendapatan rendah. Perbincangan tersebut akan dijalankan dalam Bahasa Malaysia

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Tayangan filem

3:30 PM – 4:10 PM: Perbincangan panel

4:10 PM – 4:30 PM: Sesi soal jawab

Sherrie Razak merupakan seorang peguam di Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Beliau kini merupakan ahli Jawatankuasa Hak Asasi Manusia Majlis Peguam, Jawatankuasa Peguam-Peguam Muda Kebangsaan dan Pelatih dan Jawatankuasa Peguam-Peguam Muda Kuala Lumpur. Sherrie juga merupakan seorang pembuat filem dan anggota Freedom Film Network Malaysia. Beliau mempunyai minat khas dalam memaparkan isu-isu hak asasi manusia dan kepentingan masyarakat dalam dokumentarinya.

Sherrie telah memenangi anugerah Freedom Film Festival Malaysia (2009) bagi dokumentari “No Silver Lining: The Perak Crisis” (2009), yang dibikin bersama Seira Sacha Abu Bakar. Beliau juga pernah membikinkan 3 dokumentari bersama pembikin-pembikin filem lain, antaranya “Death in Dilemma: The Final Curtain” (2011), “Ombak Perubahan: Pergerakan Sosial Di Malaysia” (2012) dan “Menunggu Masa” (2018).