KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia may have made progress in recent years as far as the death penalty is concerned. However, the cabinet meeting this Wednesday, which is supposed to deliberate on the matter, could offer the biggest indication yet on the government’s intent and commitment on this front.
Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had said last month that the findings of the special committee formed to study alternatives to the capital punishment would be presented before the ministers by the end of February.
This meeting on Wednesday will be the cabinet’s last meeting of the month.
Prime opportunity for M’sia to lead region in abolishing capital punishment
Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM) and several human rights advocates are now pushing the government to follow through on its proposal to get rid of what they described as a discriminative, inhumane and degrading form of punishment.
“The coming cabinet meeting marks an opportunity to send a signal to other countries and to allow Malaysia to take the lead in the region in abolishing the death sentence,” said AIM researcher Brian Yap.
“This review should be the first step towards its full abolishment. If we proceed, it sends a positive message that other countries can do the same.”
Speaking at a press conference organised by AIM today, he highlighted that while every human being has the right to live, there have been numerous violations in ensuring the right to fair trial among the accused.
Claiming that there is a clear discrimination against accused persons, he said that the death penalty has been proven ineffective as a deterrent, and that there is a global trend of countries abolishing the punishment.
Presently, 108 countries have already abolished capital punishment, while 36 others have agreed to do it in law or in practice.
The death penalty is currently retained for 33 offences in Malaysia, including 12 for which it is the mandatory punishment. It is understood that over 1,200 people are on death row here at the moment, with more than 70% convicted for drug offences.
Prime minister’s effort to seek leniency in sentencing signals progress?
There has been progress made by the country in recent years. In 2018, the then-Pakatan Harapan government had announced a moratorium on the death sentence, pending its abolishment.
Despite a change in government since then, Malaysia has maintained the moratorium and also voted in December 2020 for a similar moratorium at the United Nations’ General Assembly.
Rights lawyer Abdul Rashid Ismail said the current government showed tremendous effort when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob wrote in personally to his Singapore counterpart asking for leniency towards Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian prisoner on death row in the republic.
Abdul Rashid, who has been tackling death penalty laws for over a decade, said this showed how far the country has progressed as a nation in protecting lives.
“I could not have imagined this happening in yesteryears. But I'm hoping to see more intervention from our government in the future.
“We ask the cabinet today to show the same support and commitment by taking the long overdue step to abolish the death penalty. We cannot continue to have this unfair and oppressive punishment,” he said.
Golden opportunity to review death penalty law
Meanwhile, Shamala T. Manickarajah, a representative of a network that supports families of people on death row, shared her experience in assisting families in their bid to save their loved ones from the gallows.
According to Shamala, her work started six years ago when she was contacted by the wife of her childhood friend, who was supposedly wrongly sentenced to death and has been in prison for the past 13 years.
Since then, she has been aiding some 30 families writing letters seeking pardon and guiding them on the procedure to file for appeals and clemency.
In a press statement, AIM executive director Katrina Jorene Maliamauv said the government’s review of the special committee findings on the proposed abolishment of the death penalty represents an important opportunity not to be missed.
She said that the country’s policies and practices of capital punishment violate international laws and standards, as they are, in her view, imposed without fair trial.
“We strongly urge the government to comply with its obligation to protect human rights and commit to full abolition of the death penalty. It is high time the authorities took bold steps to end Malaysia’s use of the penalty.”
Maliamauv also urged the public to show their support for the abolishment of capital punishment by tagging Ismail and Wan Junaidi on social media using the hashtags #AbolishTheDeathPenalty and #MansuhkanHukumanMati. – The Vibes, February 21, 2022
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