Campaign Launched for Vui Kong - 2nd Chance

From 2ndchance4yong

July 21, 2010

Youthful folly led an 18-year-old to drug-trafficking. Today, at 22, he pledges his remaining life to campaign against drug-trafficking and drug abuse. Should his life ends tomorrow to deny him and others like him a second chance?

The Save Vui Kong Campaign (SVKC) today calls upon elected representatives and members of the public to plead to His Excellency Singapore President Sellapan Ramanathan to grant clemency to death convict Yong Vui Kong.

Yong may be hanged anytime after this 26 August if his plea for clemency is rejected.
Unfortunately, his right to seek clemency under the Singapore’s Constitution has been compromised by statement of the Hon. Minister of Law K. Shanmugan.

Even before his clemency plea is officially filed, Mr Shanmugan was quoted to have told the press: “Yong Vui Kong (who was sentenced to hang for trafficking in 47g of heroin) is young. But if we say, ‘We let you go’, what’s the signal we’re sending? We’re sending a signal to all drug barons out there: Just make sure you choose a victim who’s young or a mother of a young child and use them as the people to carry drugs into Singapore.”

Singapore’s Unrecognized Ally in Anti-Drug Campaign

The real signal Singapore is sending should Vui Kong be pardoned is exactly the opposite to what Mr Shanmugan has second guessed.

Vui Kong is a completely changed person after his arrest. He has found his spiritual salvation in Buddhism and vowed to use his remaining days to counsel lost souls like he once was and to campaign against drug-trafficking and drug-abuse.

Vui Kong who just want to redeem his past sins is actually an unrecognized ally of the Singapore Government in the latter’s anti-drug campaign. Executing him will not stop the next drug trafficker, just like the execution of previous traffickers did not stop Vui Kong, who was illiterate and did not know even about the death penalty.

Keeping Vui Kong alive may however may. He will do whatever he can to get his message of regret and redemption out to many young lives and saving them from drugs.

A second chance for Vui Kong is therefore also a second chance for many others out there.

What the Elected Representatives Can Do
All 222 members of parliamentarians from the Dewan Rakyat, 69 sitting Senators and 60 state assemblypersons of Sabah are invited to personally make their plea. We have prepared a card for them to sign and mail it back using a stamped self-addressed envelope by next Friday (31 July 2010). Concerned state assemblypersons from other states are welcome to join. We will then present these personal plea cards together to the Istana – Office of the President of Singapore.

What the Members of the Public Can Do
Members of the public can go online to endorse a petition to the Singapore president at http://www.petitiononline.com/ SaveVK/petition.html. They can help the campaign further by printing the petition and signature form (available in three languages) to collect signatures from families, friends, colleagues and even strangers. The URLs for downloads are
http://www.box.net/shared/ kl6t1gf5ss
(English Version)
http://www.box.net/shared/ ibce9v8kcd
(Mandarin Version)
http://www.box.net/shared/ daqymy6vtu
(Bahasa Malaysia Version)

Completed signature forms should be mailed to reach the address below by August 22 

“Save Vui Kong” Campaign
Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
1, Jalan Maharajalela,
50150 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia