The Malaysian parliament is debating a bill to end mandatory death penalty for 33 offences, including murder, drug trafficking and terrorism. The bill, which was introduced by the government on Monday, would give judges the discretion to impose alternative punishments, such as life imprisonment or whipping.
The bill is seen as a major reform in the nation, which has had a moratorium on executions since 2018 but still has more than 1,000 people on death row. The government said the bill was aimed at respecting the right to life of every individual and promoting rehabilitation of prisoners.
“In line with the purpose of respecting the right to life for every individual, the basic principle behind every punishment in Malaysia is the rehabilitation of prisoners,” Deputy Law Minister Ramkarpal Singh said in parliament on Monday.
He said the bill would also address the issue of miscarriage of justice and wrongful convictions, as well as reduce the burden on the judiciary and the executive in reviewing death penalty cases.
The bill has received support from various quarters, including human rights groups, lawyers and religious leaders. They welcomed the bill as a progressive step towards abolishing capital punishment altogether in Malaysia.
“We commend the government for taking this important step forward for Malaysia,” said Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Katrina Jorene Maliamauv in a statement.
She said the bill would bring Malaysia closer to international human rights standards and urged lawmakers to pass it without delay.
However, some opposition lawmakers and groups have opposed the bill, arguing that it would undermine justice and deterrence for heinous crimes. They said the mandatory death penalty should be retained for certain offences, such as murder of law enforcement officers or children.
“It is unfair to remove the mandatory death sentence for major crimes such as murder, as the victims’ families also want retribution for the loss of their loves ones,” said opposition lawmaker Mas Ermieyati Samsudin on Monday.
She also questioned whether the government had consulted the public and stakeholders before introducing the bill.
The bill is expected to be passed by the lower house of parliament this week and then move to the senate for approval. If enacted, it would make Malaysia the latest country in the region to reform its death penalty laws.
In recent years, several countries in Southeast Asia have abolished or reduced the scope of capital punishment, such as Cambodia, Philippines, Brunei and Singapore. However, some countries still retain and carry out executions, such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.