P Pannir Selvam penned a moving final letter on gratitude, faith and resilience to his Singaporean lawyer just three days before his execution in the city-state on Wednesday.
In the letter dated Oct 3, Pannir urged lawyer Too Xing Ji to keep his head up despite the failure to stay his execution and appeal for clemency, and to continue to “do what you do best”.
“The outcome may not be what we had hoped for, but let it not diminish the richness of the journey we went through, in which we learned about human experiences.
“We discover more about who we are, what we stand for, our purpose, and the best of us that we put forward in the principles that we believe in. This is us, not the outcome.
“God will be with you and your family … You are amazing. Take care, Jesus loves you,” Pannir said in the letter before signing off as “your dear friend”.
Too shared the note on Facebook and paid tribute to his former client, expressing hope that others would find solace and strength from Pannir’s letter.
He also encouraged people to stand up and speak out for others, especially for those who cannot do so for themselves.
“My dear friend, you have achieved more in six years than some people do their entire lives. They may break your body, but your spirit shines brightly still. You live on forever in all of us,” Too said in a Facebook post.
Singapore executed Pannir for smuggling 51.84g of diamorphine into the country in 2014. He was the second Malaysian to be put to death for a drug offence in the city-state in two weeks, after the execution of K Datchinamurthy, 39, on Sept 25.
Pannir was convicted on June 27, 2017 by the Singapore High Court of trafficking in 51.84g of diamorphine at the Woodlands checkpoint on Sept 3, 2014, and was given the mandatory death penalty.
His appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Feb 9, 2018, and his clemency petition to the Singapore president was rejected.
