IN PHOTO: Australian Andrew Chan (L) and Myuran Sukumaran wait in a temporary cell for their appeal hearing in Denpasar District Court in Indonesia's resort island of Bali September 21, 2010.
IN PHOTO: Australian Andrew Chan (L) and Myuran Sukumaran wait in a temporary cell for their appeal hearing in Denpasar District Court in Indonesia's resort island of Bali September 21, 2010. They are members of a group known as the Bali Nine, arrested in April 2005 in Bali with 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin strapped to their bodies. Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death in 2006. They requested for a judicial review for their death sentence to be reduced to 20 years jail. REUTERS/Murdani Usman

Indonesian politician Prananda Surya Paloh is in favour of granting clemency to Bali Nine convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Paloh, elected to the House of Representatives in 2014, is a graduate of Melbourne's Monash University.

The young politician hopes to empower a movement on ending the capital punishment in the country. Paloh works for the progressive NasDem party. His strong objection against the execution of the Australian drug convicts comes after he has examined arguments against and in favour of the execution.

While capital punishment seems to be popular among the majority of Indonesian people, Paloh is one of the few politicians in the country that speak publicly against death penalty. The 26-year-old said that the Australian convicts were "capable of having a bright future" if set free.

"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," Paloh said, "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." Indonesia has extremely strict laws against crimes related to drugs.

Paloh referred to the fact that Chan, now 31 and Sukumaran, now 33, had been quite young during their arrest. According to the young politician, the two did not have the right frame of mind at that time. Paloh said that the Bali Nine convicts had served enough time to think about what they had been doing.

Paloh is in favour of strict punishment against drug related crimes. However, he does not believe that firing squad should be included as a form of punishment for such crimes. According to him, life imprisonment should be enough for most severe cases. Public education and more funds for rehab should help the cause more, he said.

Meanwhile, Chan and Sukumaran lost their plea in the administrative court on Monday to challenge Indonesian President Joko Widodo's decision. Presiding judge Ujang Abdullah said that the object of the dispute was not part of the jurisdiction of the administrative court.

However, the lawyers said that they would continue to fight for the lives of the Australian men. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop expressed her disappointment in a statement. She said that Australia would respectfully request the Indonesian president to review the clemency plea.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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