Book contents
- Capital Drug Laws in Asia
- Capital Drug Laws in Asia
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Chart
- Contributors
- Table of Cases
- Table of Statutes
- Table of International Treaties
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Executing States
- Part II People on Death Row
- 5 From the Ghetto to the Gallows: Rights, Race, Class, and Drug Crimes in Malaysia
- 6 Pathways to Prison
- Part III Actors and Agencies
- Part IV States in Transition
- Index
- References
5 - From the Ghetto to the Gallows: Rights, Race, Class, and Drug Crimes in Malaysia
from Part II - People on Death Row
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2025
Book contents
- Capital Drug Laws in Asia
- Capital Drug Laws in Asia
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Chart
- Contributors
- Table of Cases
- Table of Statutes
- Table of International Treaties
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Executing States
- Part II People on Death Row
- 5 From the Ghetto to the Gallows: Rights, Race, Class, and Drug Crimes in Malaysia
- 6 Pathways to Prison
- Part III Actors and Agencies
- Part IV States in Transition
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter discusses the overrepresentation of Malaysian Indians convicted of drug trafficking under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1980 on death row. Using Eric Mitnick’s group-differentiated rights theory (1999, 2000, and 2006), it is argued that Malaysian Indians convicted of drug trafficking fall into two ‘non-rights bearer’ groups: first, as members of the Malaysian Indian ethnic minority from the lower social class who have been disregarded by the 1970 socioeconomic policy and 1990 national development policy; and second, as drug couriers who have been denied fair trial rights in the Malaysian criminal justice system. As ‘non-rights bearers,’ they have suffered from disadvantages meted out by various national laws and policies, and have been victims of neglect due to the politics of race in Malaysia and the war on drugs in Southeast Asia.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Capital Drug Laws in Asia , pp. 111 - 134Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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