Billionaire Richard Branson declines invitation to live televised debate with Shanmugam on death penalty

SINGAPORE – British billionaire Richard Branson has declined Singapore's invitation to a live televised debate with Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

In a statement issued on Monday (Oct 31), he said he was declining the invitation as he felt a debate on such a platform would lack nuance.

He said: "I have decided to decline this invitation. Here is why: A television debate – limited in time and scope, always at risk of prioritising personalities over issues – cannot do the complexity of the death penalty any service.

"It reduces nuanced discourse to soundbites, turns serious debate into spectacle. I can't imagine that is what you are looking for. What Singapore really needs is a constructive, lasting dialogue involving multiple stakeholders, and a true commitment to transparency and evidence."

In his statement, which was issued on his blog on the Virgin Group website, he added that the conversation needed local voices.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had previously rebutted his Oct 10 blog post about Malaysian Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, who was hanged in April for drug trafficking.

The ministry said on Oct 22 that Mr Branson also made false assertions about alleged racial bias here and the treatment of capital defence lawyers.

It invited him to debate the death penalty on live television in Singapore, and also added that his flight to and accommodation in Singapore would be paid for.

"The capital sentence has had a clear deterrent effect on drug traffickers in Singapore. It has also helped prevent major drug syndicates from establishing themselves here," said the MHA.

"Mr Branson may use this platform (of a televised debate) to demonstrate to Singaporeans the error of our ways and why Singapore should do away with laws that have kept our population safe from the global scourge of drug abuse."

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In his response on Monday, Mr Branson said he has "enormous respect" for Singapore and Singaporeans, and was compelled to speak about the use of the death penalty here because of his late grandfather's views on its use.

Describing himself as a "global advocate for abolition of the death penalty", he said he would continue to raise the issue and celebrate if Singapore did abolish it.

He also claimed there is no evidence that the death penalty reduces crime.

He said: "There is no evidence to support its continued existence. Just ask those in Singapore who know."

Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, who is also the Second Minister for Home Affairs, said on Oct 29 that the Government will remain steadfast in its tough approach against drug trafficking, including the use of the death penalty.

She said that the death penalty is an effective deterrence, and that interviews with drug traffickers and analysis of their operations show the death penalty has significantly reduced the amount of drugs trafficked into Singapore.

Surveys conducted or commissioned by the MHA also show that six in 10 Singaporeans think drug traffickers should be sentenced to death, and those living in the region agreed the death penalty had a deterrent effect.

Mrs Teo said: "Some people, however, make the disingenuous argument that because drugs are still being trafficked into Singapore, it shows that the death penalty has failed as a deterrent. It's an illogical argument, but they will grasp at any argument."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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