SINGAPORE: In his final days before execution, Malaysian death row inmate Pannir Selvam Pranthaman left behind a deeply moving message to his lawyer Too Xing Ji, reflecting gratitude, faith, and resilience in the face of death.
On 9 October 2025, Too shared the note on Facebook, describing it as one of Pannir’s “final acts of generosity.”
The message, handwritten shortly before Pannir’s execution on 8 October, accompanied a book he gifted to his counsel.
A note shared from the heart
Too wrote that Pannir’s words carried profound meaning — so much so that he felt compelled to make them public.
The note, he said, was “important enough to be shared,” as it revealed the inmate’s unwavering humanity even in his final hours.
In the letter, Pannir thanked Too for his support, friendship, and kindness.
“The outcome may not be what we hoped for,” he wrote, “but let it not diminish the richness of the journey we went through — in which we learned about human experiences, discovered more about who we are, what we stand for, our purpose, and the best of ourselves that we put forward for the principles we believe in.”
Encouragement in the face of loss
Pannir urged Too to “keep [his] head up” and to stay strong despite the outcome.
He ended the message by extending blessings and encouragement to his lawyer and fellow supporters: “Do what you do best. My best wishes for all your future undertakings and success. God will be with you.”
His final words — “You are amazing. Take care — Jesus loves you” — have since been widely shared online, resonating with many who followed his case over the years.
Lawyer reflects on Pannir’s legacy
Too, who represented Pannir throughout his six-year legal struggle, reflected in his Facebook post on what his client’s words meant.
“We are not the outcome,” he wrote.
“We are what we stand for, our purpose, the best of us that we put forward for the principles we believe in.”
He added, “To all the people trying to make the world a better place, on days when you doubt yourself, I hope you may find solace and strength from Pannir’s final words.
What we do matters. We stand up so that others may be seen. We speak out so that others may be heard.”
Too described his client as a man who “achieved more in six years than some people do in their entire lives,” despite facing confinement and the constant threat of execution.
“They may break your body,” he wrote, “but your spirit shines brightly still. You live on forever in all of us.”
Singapore court rejected Pannir’s final bid to stay execution
Pannir’s execution took place on the morning of 8 October 2025, after Singapore’s Court of Appeal dismissed his final application for a stay the day before.
His counsel had argued for a reassessment of Pannir’s eligibility for a Certificate of Substantive Assistance, citing information he had provided to Malaysian authorities about a cross-border drug network.
However, Justice Woo Bih Li ruled there was “no basis to grant the present application to order a stay of execution,” adding that there was “nothing exceptional whatsoever about the circumstances of the present case.”
With that, all legal remedies were exhausted.
Outpouring of grief and solidarity
Following his death, condolences and tributes flowed across Singapore and Malaysia.
Human rights lawyer M Ravi, marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October, described Pannir as “a man of courage, remorse, and cooperation” who had shown change but was “denied the chance to live.”
He wrote, “The death penalty achieves nothing. It does not bring back victims. It silences a life that could have changed, and in doing so, it diminishes our collective humanity.”
Family remembers his transformation
In Malaysia, The Star reported that Pannir’s wake was held in Ipoh, Perak.
His sister, P. Sangkari, said her brother had spent his confinement years turning repentance into purpose, guiding fellow inmates, and founding a charity, Sebaran Kasih, to help others in need.
“For the past few years, he lived with deep reflection, prayer, and purpose,” she said.
“He told me once, ‘Akka, I don’t want my story to end in bitterness. If my life can stop one person from making the same mistake, then it will have meaning.’”
At his funeral on 10 October, she remembered him as “a man of faith, compassion, and courage.”
Sangkari added that her brother’s transformation showed that “change is possible, even from the darkest place.”
Through his writings, mentoring, and faith, she said, Pannir reminded others that mercy is not weakness but strength.
Pannir is to be buried at the Papan Christian cemetery in Perak on Friday.
Rights group condemns Malaysia’s silence over executions
Amnesty International Malaysia condemned what it described as Malaysia’s “deafening silence” over Pannir’s execution, noting that 12 people, including four Malaysians, have been executed there this year.
The group urged both governments to end what it called “unlawful executions” and to uphold human rights obligations.
On World Day Against the Death Penalty, Malaysia’s silence is deafening.
As Singapore continues to carry out unlawful executions including that of Malaysian national Pannir Selvam, the Malaysian government remains silent.#WorldDayAgainstTheDeathPenalty pic.twitter.com/PDo76xIsd6
— Amnesty International Malaysia (@AmnestyMy) October 10, 2025
In Malaysia’s Parliament on 7 October 2025, Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah confirmed that no new investigation would follow a police interview with Pannir conducted at Changi Prison on 27 September.
He said the four-hour session yielded “no operational value,” and Malaysia respected Singapore’s judicial process.
Opposition MP Ramkarpal Singh questioned the rationale for the interview, while Pannir’s sister Sangkari Pranthaman criticised the government’s stance, arguing that her brother had been a courier, not a trafficker.
She claimed those who recruited him remained at large in Malaysia.
Human rights lawyer N Surendran said the family would file a judicial review against the Malaysian government for failing to act on Pannir’s testimony.
He said information provided by Pannir should have qualified him for a Certificate of Substantive Assistance, which could have commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.
Pannir was convicted by the Singapore High Court on 2 May 2017, for importing at least 51.84g of diamorphine into Singapore via the Woodlands Checkpoint on 3 September, 2014.
He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act.
His appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 9 February 2018, and his clemency petition to the President of Singapore was rejected.
Pannir had previously been granted two stays of execution.
The first was in May 2019, when he sought to challenge the clemency rejection and the Public Prosecutor’s decision not to issue him a Certificate of Substantive Assistance.
A second stay was granted in February 2025, which was lifted after the dismissal of his post-appeal application on 5 September.
On 6 September, a further stay request was rejected by the Court of Appeal. This application was linked to disciplinary proceedings Pannir had initiated through the Law Society against his former legal representative.
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