KUALA LUMPUR – The government will table bills on abolishing the mandatory death penalty in February, said Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Announcing the matter in a statement today, Azalina said that the matter had been decided on during the cabinet meeting today.
KENYATAAN MEDIA: HUKUMAN GANTIAN UNTUK HUKUMAN MATI MANDATORI OLEH KERAJAAN PERPADUAN pic.twitter.com/gB7nd818RD
— Azalina Othman Said (@AzalinaOthmanS) December 21, 2022
“The government will also consider carrying out follow-up studies involving the reformation of the criminal justice system, relating to matters such as a more effective sentencing policy, caning punishments and updating the prison structure.
“Focus will also be given to taking a more ‘restorative justice’ approach to punishments meted out,” she said.
She added that while amending laws does not abolish the death penalty completely, it does give the courts discretion to decide on an appropriate sentence based on the facts of the case.
According to Azalina, the Attorney-General’s Chambers has examined the implementation policy for proposed substituted punishments to the mandatory death penalty, which is the sentence for 11 offences under the Penal Code and the Fireams (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.
The laws above, along with the Firearms Act 1960 and the Kidnapping Act 1961, also outline 23 offences which carry the punishment at the discretion of the courts.
As such, Azalina said that the government will be tabling bills on seven laws, including the Criminal Procedure Code and the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Besides that, she also confirmed that the existing moratorium for the 1,327 convicts currently on death row will still be in place until the amended laws are implemented, while those who have not been sentenced will prospectively receive alternative punishments to the death penalty.
In June, then law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the government had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty, following his presentation of a report on substitute sentences for the penalty in a cabinet meeting in June.
Three months later, the government took its first step towards abolishing the mandatory death penalty, with Wan Junaidi tabling the first reading of the amendments in Parliament. – The Vibes, December 21, 2022
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