Malaysia’s parliament on Tuesday passed two bills to replace the death penalty and abolish mandatory fines for the crime . Human rights groups welcomed the move as a step towards the complete abolition of the death penalty .
” With the invalidation of the obligatory death penalty, Malaysia is near to utmost countries that have completely abolished the death penalty,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia Director for Human Rights Watch.” Malaysia’s coming step is to fully end the judgment and dicker of 1,300 death row convicts,” she added.
Previously , Malaysia retained the death penalty for 33 crimes . Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 repeals the mandatory death penalty for 12 crimes , including drug trafficking , murder , treason and terrorism . The bill also completely abolishes the death penalty as an option for seven crimes , including attempted murder and attempted kidnapping . The ‘ natural life sentence ‘ , which is confinement until death , is replaced by a sentence of 30 to 40 years .
” This is an important development for the felonious justice system, told Ramkarpal Singh, Prime Minister’s Office Deputy Minister for Legal and Institutional Reform. Malaysia’s felonious justice reform is being enforced in resemblant with universal human rights norms. These emendations are the first step towards reforming our felonious justice system,” he added.
Despite the changes , the new law retains the death penalty for drug offences . In Malaysia , more than half of all death row inmates are charged with drug offenses . The law also protects the penalty , which many experts believe constitutes torture under international human rights law . However , the abolition of the death penalty is a step towards harmonization with international human rights law in a region where the death penalty is widely practiced . In Southeast Asia , Cambodia and the Philippines are the only countries that have completely abolished the death penalty .
Amnesty International estimates that there are currently 1,341 prisoners in the country , of whom more than 60 % have been sentenced in Malaysia between 1992 and 2023 .
By: Muskan kumari, BBA LL.B. 4th year from The ICFAI UNIVERSITY, RANCHI, JHARKHAND
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