Panchalai Supermaniam

COMMENT | This Deepavali, two mothers will be in Singapore to visit their offspring. 

Panchalai Supermaniam who works as a cleaner will visit her intellectually challenged son in prison who is to be executed on Nov 10 and Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is currently on trial for receiving bribes, will be visiting her pregnant daughter, no doubt in more luxurious circumstances.

One child will be executed and the other will give birth. One mother will know the anguish of loss and the other will greet a new life with joy. While Panchalai has to rely on the goodwill of strangers to raise money for her final trip to see her son, the other faces no such obstacles.

Indeed, while the alleged crimes of Rosmah amount to millions, the son of Panchalai is going to be executed for strapping a couple of grams of diamorphine to his thighs.

If this does not tell us something about the justice system, here and in Singapore, well there is nothing more to say. 

This Deepavali, two mothers will have very different conversations with their children. Panchalai child belongs to a class of children - of any race - which has felt the brunt of the failed policies of successive governments.

These “children of Malaysia” are the forgotten children; those children that the state has deemed transgressed against the state. 

While politicians and their cronies steal money from public coffers and practise divisive politics, these children - drug mules to capitalists of the black economy who bribe and conspire with state actors - face the ultimate punishment.

I have no idea how Panchalai will react to seeing her son. As someone who has witnessed final moments of visits in situations like these, I can tell you, it normally does not go well. 

You are at the mercy of an uncaring system that only seeks to carry out a mandate efficiently without any remorse or understanding.

Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam apparently has only a vague idea of his fate so perhaps, this may be a blessing of some kind, or maybe it won't be because he would no doubt see his mother in so much distress. 

What final words can you say to your child? What final comfort can you give your child who you know is going to his or her death?

Real masterminds

I have always had a problem with executing drug mules. Most people who are hung for this offence are so low down the criminal food chain, their effects on society are minimal at best. 

The real drug entrepreneurs are living in luxury. Most of them are politically connected. Most of them launder their money through institutions that good god-fearing people use.

When not busy corrupting the state security apparatus, they are corrupting the political process. Does the death penalty really seem appropriate for those people who are so low down the food chain while the real masterminds are probably propping up the banking institutions and the economy of the country?

However, most people do not care about the fate of a convicted drug mule facing the death penalty in Singapore. 

Indeed, when it comes to human rights, drugs and the death penalty, most people couldn’t care less about these people, believing they deserve what they get. Indeed as a human rights issue, it does not move people because ultimately nobody cares about the fate of criminals.

To understand the process in Singapore and the happy ending (sort of ) of another young Malaysian, please refer to freelance journalist and activist Kristen Han’s piece here.

Meanwhile, Rosmah, who belongs to a class of political elite whose lifestyle is public knowledge and documented in the press, is going to be having a very different kind of conversation with her daughter this Deepavali.

No doubt some pregnancies are complicated but the conversations that happen between mother and expectant mother will revolve around new life and the possibilities that come with it. 

A new life in a wealthy family and the innumerable possibilities that come with it. A new life of privilege and resources, which places some people far from the reality of what the Nagaethran family is going through.

No victory in sight

And this is what it is, isn't it? Doesn’t matter if you are Malay, Chinese or Indian. If you are poor and you make bad choices, the consequences are different for you. Your crimes are different. The justice system is different.

I know there will be tears. I know both mothers will probably cry. One out of sorrow and the other out of joy. I recall how Rosmah cried at her hearing. Describing how she was maliciously and unfairly prosecuted.

I wonder if Pancahalai feels the same way of how her son was treated. I can imagine her tears at the prospect of her intellectually challenged son being executed by a system that somehow always finds ways to make the consequences of bad choices different based on wealth and privilege.

They say Deepavali symbolises the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. This tale of two mothers demonstrates that there is no victory in sight.