Indonesia’s Capital Punishment Controversy

A number of countries were on the edge. They exerted themselves to suspend the execution of their citizens for drug cases in Indonesia, but the Indonesian government didn't budge. The executions would still be carried out considering that drugs are included in extraordinary crime.

Every government will certainly do its best to protect each of its citizens, and this is also the case with the Indonesian government regarding Basri Masse.

Basri Masse was an illegal immigrant from Parepare, South Sulawesi, who worked in Kinibalu, Sabah, Malaysia. On February 16, 1983, he and Abdul Patta Lubing from Maros, South Sulawesi were arrested by the police in a taxi parked on Jalan Terawi, Putatan, Kinabalu. With them was secured evidence of 935 grams of dried marijuana wrapped in Utusan Malaysia newspaper in a plastic bag. Three years later, the Kota Kinabalu High Court sentenced Basri to hang. He was charged with section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

Previously Ramli Kechik (40), a fisherman from Langkat, North Sumatra, became the first Indonesian to be hanged in Malaysia. He was arrested for carrying 15.6 kg of raw opium in Kuala Perlis in July 1982. His execution took place in Taiping prison, Malaysia, in August 1986. The Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Penang tried to help him, but didn't protest as the Australian government had done over the execution of two of its citizens in Malaysia a month earlier.

Although not the first, the Basri Masse case caused an uproar in Indonesia. Why?

Legal Irregularities

According to Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), in Making Money off Migrants: The Indonesian Exodus to Malaysia, the uproar arose due to a number of irregularities surrounding Basri Masse's case. The article under which Basri was charged was updated in 1980, but became effective on April 15, 1983 or two months after Basri was arrested, meaning it was retroactive. Basri challenged the law through an appeal to the Malaysian Supreme Court, but it was rejected.

Another irregularity was that the police charged Abdul Patta Lubing with a similar offense but later changed it to a simple criminal offense. "It was never clear why Patta received a lesser charge," wrote Sidney Jones. Patta was even released after an unknown person posted bail and disappeared. Basri himself claimed that Patta was the owner of the marijuana.

On the other hand, the testimonies of the police who arrested Basri and the taxi driver were inconsistent and contradictory. "But the judge still believed them," wrote Tempo, January 27, 1990. Basri's failed attempt to escape became the judge's excuse that Basri "already felt guilty".

Both the KJRI and the Indonesian government were never informed about Basri’s case by the Malaysian government, and only found out when Basri smuggled a letter dated June 21, 1988 to the Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu.

After hearing the news, the Consul General for Sarawak and Sabah, Widodo Suparto met with Sabah Chief Minister Dato Pairin Kitingan. As a result, it was suggested that Basri write a letter of request for leniency to the Sabah State Pardon Board. The Pardon's Board hearings on February 26 and March 31, 1989 decided that Basri's hanging sentence was irreversible. However, the execution was postponed twice on March 1 and May 22, 1989.

Basri Masse's case made headlines in various Indonesian media for months, both before and after his execution.

Efforts of the Indonesian Government

Despite respecting Malaysia's legal sovereignty, the Indonesian government regretted the irregularities in Basri's legal process. On January 9, 1990, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas sent a letter to Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato Abu Hassan Omar and Yang Dipertuan Negeri Sabah (similar to governor) Tan Sri Dato Haji Mohamad Said Bin Keruak.

In his letter, as reported by Kompas, January 19, 1990, Ali asked for the decision to hang to be reviewed on the basis of "an assessment of several shortcomings in the legal process that tried Basri Masse".

Appeals also came from officials, politicians, students, and organizations. A demonstration was held by various parties at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.

This case made the Indonesia-Malaysia Youth Dialogue event in Cisarua, Bogor, in January 1990, tense. In fact, the event ended a day early, because the Malaysian delegation received threats by telephone. During the dialog, Indonesian participants asked Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Dato Megad Junaid to suspend the death penalty. Megad Junaid suggested the Indonesian government contact Yang Dipertuan Negeri Sabah, the only person who could still save Basri's life.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Soenarso Djajusman and later his deputy, Junizar Jacob, tried to meet Yang Dipertuan Negeri Sabah at Wisma Sabah, but failed.

The Indonesian government's efforts were in vain. On January 19, 1990, Basri Masse was hanged in Kepayan Prison, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Outrage and condemnation ensued. To the press, Mahathir Mohamad said he didn't understand the furor. "I am worried that certain groups are deliberately worsening our relations with Indonesia by raising this issue, although I do not have any suspicions," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times, February 4, 1990.

Double Standard

Five years later, it was the Indonesian government's turn to execute a Malaysian citizen, Chan Ting Chong or Steven Chan for possession of 420 grams of heroin.

This case stems from the arrest of Maniam Manusamy, a Malaysian citizen, at Hotel City, Jakarta in 1985. Manusamy admitted that he did it because he was paid by Chan Ting Chong, a Malaysian businessman. Despite denying his involvement, Chan was arrested and sentenced to death in January 1986. Meanwhile, Manusamy was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In August 1986, Manusamy sent a letter to the Supreme Court, stating that he gave false testimony. However, this new evidence did not affect the death sentence. Chan's appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court in 1990 and his clemency was denied in 1991.

"Many Indonesians and Malaysians believe that Chan Tin Chong's execution was retribution for the execution of Basri Masse," Sidney Jones wrote.

Chan Ting Chong was executed by firing squad on January 13, 1995 in Cibubur, East Jakarta. He was the first person to be sentenced to death in Indonesia since the Narcotics Law was introduced in 1976.

According to Poengky Indarti, executive director of Imparsial, a non-governmental organization that monitors and investigates human rights violations in Indonesia in a release on January 18, 2015, after Chan Tien Chong's case, the Indonesian government has continued to carry out executions in drug cases. However, Indonesia applies double standards. Domestically, the government practices the death penalty, but it applies for pardons if any of its citizens are sentenced to death abroad.

"This is actually detrimental to Indonesia in international diplomacy to protect Indonesian citizens who are threatened with the death penalty," said Poengky.