Cape Argus, Cape Town, 2 March 1999

Letters

Law, order needed at home and on roads

The blinkered attitude of Justice Minister Dullah Omar towards corporal punishment is simply incomprehensible.

One has to perceive the death penalty and/or Islamic justice in proper perspective as a deterrent.

In the "civilised society" to which he refers in his rejection of corporal punishment, innocent citizens are being attacked, robbed, hijacked, hacked to death, raped and generally subjected to unimaginable savagery, while the "dignity" of the perpetrators is preserved.

Capital punishment will not result in serious depletion of the population, nor will severing the odd limb of offenders result in a society the likes of Vietnam, Angola or Mozambique.

The criminals will get the message, though, that the authorities are serious about crime, the killing will cease and many more lives will consequently be saved far more than those sacrificed.

Furthermore, the economy of the country will forever remain in the doldrums if crime is not brought under control.

Even tourism will eventually suffer the same fate as it has in Kenya.

And even if the tourists do come, they will just take a quick peep from a safe vantage point and disappear without spending any money.

So, come on Mr Omar, don't spare the hyena at the expense of the golden goose. Get tough and you will have most of the nation behind you.

P Van Heerden
Somerset West