Amid growing criticism that capital punishment was not the answer to solving the rising number of cases of abandoned babies in the country, Prime Minister Najib Razak has tried to soften his Cabinet's decision to classify such cases as murder.
“The Cabinet decision does not mean that every case of abandoning baby is a murder case. We decided that the police investigate and use modern technique such as the DNA test to identify the parents,"Bernama reported Najib as saying.
“Subsequently, depending on the case, the Attorney-General will decide whether to make a murder charge or take any other action deemed fit.”
Najib's latest comments are bound to spark greater confusion, with concern shifting to a scenario complicated by unclear laws and the worrisome amount of discretionary power already held by Attorney General Gani Patail. Gani has frequently been accused of selective prosecution.
Hasty response by the Cabinet
The Cabinet's decision was made following public outrage but civil society and parents groups have questioned the wisdom of such a hasty move.
According to them, most of the culprits tended to be young unwed couples and those who were less educated, making it unlikely that such a law could be a deterrent. In fact, most of the culprits would not even be aware that they stood to face capital punishment if caught, they pointed out.
Sex education and access to help for pregnant mothers would be preferable to punishing offenders with the death sentence, they advised the government.
In particular, DAP chairman Karpal Singh has called for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to look into the causes for the shocking rise in cases of abandoned babies and to recommend measures to deal with the situation.
“The solution lies in the eradication of the cause. However the task to achieve this is of monumental proportion but one which the government cannot, in the public interest, choose to ignore. A Royal Commission is the answer,” Karpal said in a statement.
Royal Commission of Inquiry
Women’s Aid Organisation president Ivy Josiah too has urged for further study to be done before impulsive and irreversible action was taken by the government. According to her, capital punishment was not the solution, but rather proper education should be given to the young to prevent them from committing such crimes.
“Show us the research and evidence that capital punishment will help prevent crime. Drug trafficking, which is punishable by death, is still going on,” said Ivy.
On Wednesday, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil announced that the Cabinet had directed the Home Ministry to classify baby dumping cases as murder or attempted murder if the child dies.
“The government has no choice as such acts were tantamount to baby killing.Official statistics show that there were 407 cases of abandoned babies from 2005 to last year, and 60 cases so far this year. Of the babies dumped this year, 25 were boys and 21 girls. Fourteen could not be identified due to decomposition, including one mauled by dogs,” Shahrizat said in a statement.
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