A young Indonesian member of parliament is reportedly backing the mercy campaign for the Bali Nine Australians on death row.
Prananda Surya Paloh is against the impending executions and has spoken openly about his disapproval of Chan and Sukumaran meeting the firing squad, reports the AAP.
The 26-year-old politician previously studied in Melbourne and was elected to the Indonesian house of representatives from the NasDem party, according to AAP.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that yes, there needs to be punishment, but there needs to be a moral background and a sense of humanity,” he told AAP.
“In Indonesia it’s a very taboo subject, especially if you are a public figure, but I’m willing to make a stand for what I believe in.”
Perhaps it’s Paloh’s closeness in age to the Bali Nine pair that has made him more open to hearing Chan and Sukumaran’s pleas for mercy:
“When they were arrested they were very young, they still didn’t have the right frame of mind, and they’ve served enough time now to think about what they were actually doing,” he said.
But while Paloh believes one day Indonesia will gradually get to the point where there’s a moratorium on the death penalty, he also maintains that clemency is ultimately the president’s call to make.
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