Balik Pulau MP Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik has pledged assistance in trying to free one of his constituents on death row in Indonesia over a drug conviction seven years ago.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Bakhtiar (above) said he was informed of a case review filed in a West Jakarta court by lawyers from Indonesia's Community Legal Institute, acting on behalf of Tor Eng Tart who is originally from Balik Pulau.
"I took immediate action to meet with Tor's family in Balik Pulau. He has several relatives.
"They were surprised as to how I found out about the case because it was quite low profile," said Bakhtiar when met in Parliament yesterday.
Anti-Death Penalty Network’s (Adpan) Tham Jia Vern, who connected Bakhtiar with two Indonesian lawyers - Nixon Sinaga and Yosua Octavian - told Malaysiakini their initial meetings were held in July.
Nixon is representing Tor, while Yosua had assisted Tor's wife, Ooi Swee Lee, who was jointly arrested, charged and convicted but has since died in detention at Lampung women prison on Aug 5, 2020.
Other than meeting the couple's family in Balik Pulau, Baktiar said he also fulfilled requests from the lawyers to obtain documents such as Tor's school records.
Bakhtiar also flew to Jakarta several months ago to further assist in filing the case review.
"I was informed by Nixon and Yosua that they previously faced difficulties meeting the previous Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia.
"But this current one, Syed Md Hasrin Syed Hussin, Alhamdulillah he was very cooperative when he met us, and he understood the plights of all our citizens in Indonesian prisons," he said.
Tor was found guilty on Sept 29, 2016, of possessing 140,000 ecstasy pills in two suitcases with the intention of distribution.
Since the dismissal of his final appeal in February 2017, the 49-year-old has been awaiting his execution at Bali's Nusa Kambangan maximum security prison.
'More M’sians on Indonesian death row'
Bakhtiar said he was also informed by the lawyers there are other Malaysians on Indonesian death row, and as such would raise the issue in the Dewan Rakyat through questions in the special chamber.
"For Indonesian citizens on trial in Malaysia, I was informed they will be represented by lawyers assigned by the Indonesian Embassy here.
"But there are no such arrangements for Malaysians detained overseas, except through external parties like in Tor's case," he said.
"So I would like to ask the foreign minister, what protections can we give to our citizens?
"Of particular concern are those suspected of being drug mules," he added.
In an interview with Malaysiakini on Tuesday, Nixon and Yosua said there are some 100 foreigners on death row in Indonesia, including Malaysians convicted of drug-related charges.
The duo, who met with Bakhtiar in Parliament, are also participants of a two-day National Conference on Sentencing Council and Mitigation for Death Penalty in Malaysia, organised by Adpan. - Mkini
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