Kaula Lumpur, 4 April 2023 (GNP): The elimination of the mandatory death penalty, reduction in the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty, and the abolition of natural life sentences were all approved by parliament of Malaysia on Monday which the rights groups cautiously applauded.
Since 2018, when it initially pledged to eliminate the death sentence, Malaysia has declared a ban on executions.
A year later, the government, under political pressure from some parties, said it would keep the death sentence but would enable judges to substitute alternative penalties at their judgment.
The recently enacted amendments provide for the lashing and 30 to 40-year sentences as alternatives to the death penalty.
Any prior sentences that called for imprisonment for the entirety of the offender’s natural life will be replaced by the new jail term.
The official standard of life imprisonment in Malaysia is a fixed period of 30 years.
A few major offenses that do not lead to fatalities, such as the firing of a weapon, the smuggling of a firearm, and abduction, will no longer be subject to the death penalty.
The enacted reforms apply to 34 crimes that are presently capital penalties, including murder and drug trafficking.
More than 1,300 people, including those who have tried all prior legal appeals and those facing the death penalty or life imprisonment, may request a sentencing review under the new regulations.
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“The death penalty has not brought about the results it was intended to bring,” said Ramkarpal Singh, Malaysia’s deputy minister of law while concluding parliamentary discussions on the reforms.
Malaysia’s decision comes as several of its neighbors in Southeast Asia have expanded the usage of the death penalty, with Singapore last year killing 11 individuals for drug charges and military-ruled Myanmar giving four anti-junta activists the first death sentences it has given in decades.
The bill hasn’t yet been sent to the king and upper house, but it’s likely to be approved.
Dobby Chew, executive coordinator at the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network stated that: “Essentially, we have now narrowed down our death penalty to only three main groups of offenses: murder, drug trafficking, and treason”.
“This is a good first step forward. It brings Malaysia closer in line with international standards for those countries that retain the death penalty”, he added.
