KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Bar has called on the government to commute the sentence of some 1,359 death row inmates to imprisonment that befits their crime, following the decision to abolish the mandatory death penalty.
“Currently, there is a moratorium on the execution of death row inmates.
“The Malaysian Bar calls upon the government to work with Pardons Boards to ensure that the more than 1,359 convicted persons currently on death row are also spared from the death penalty.
“We advocate that all death sentences should be commuted to sentences of imprisonment, proportionate to the gravity of offences committed, and take into consideration the mitigating factors and distinctive circumstances that surround each case.
“Only then will the punishment meted out be both just and effective,” said its president Karen Cheah in a statement today.
While Cheah lauded the move by the government, calling it a step in the right direction, she stressed that the pledge falls short of abolishing capital punishment in the country.
“It should also be highlighted that while this announcement is a significant step forward for the country, it still falls short of an earlier pledge to abolish capital punishment entirely in Malaysia which was announced by the then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law), Datuk Liew Vui Keong on October 10, 2018,” she said referring to the late law minister who had served under the Pakatan Harapan administration.
“The cabinet decision is clearly a correct decision and a step towards the right path, but more has to be done to ensure total abolition of the death penalty.
“The death penalty has no place in a society that values human life, justice and mercy; nor does it assure a civilised and secure society, but diminishes our humanity.
“In an advanced society, our focus should be on rehabilitation and restoration – and very little is achieved in having the death penalty except to satisfy the need for retribution,” she added.
Echoing the same sentiment of commuting the death sentence to imprisonment, Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh also urged the government to urgently table the necessary bills in Parliament regarding the affected statutes.
“I am of the view that the said amendments ought to apply retrospectively to those currently on death row even though they were convicted before the amendments come into force, as it would be unfair to impose the mandatory death penalty on those convicted of such offences before the abolishment and allow offenders who are convicted after the abolishment the chance to escape the gallows.
“This would clearly go against the principle of equality enshrined in our federal constitution.
“In the circumstances, I call on the government to consider introducing, by legislation, a separate sentencing exercise for those on death row to determine if they ought to be exempted from the death penalty at the discretion of a judge after the mandatory death penalty is abolished,” he said in a statement today.
Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced that the government had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty and to substitute it with other sentences, subject to the discretion of the court.
However, Wan Junaidi later stated that the government has yet to set a time frame for the abolition of the mandatory death penalty to take effect. – The Vibes, June 10, 2022
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