On April 3, a bill to abolish the death penalty was approved by Malaysia’s parliament. Human rights organizations hailed the vote as an “important step” for Southeast Asia.
Before, death sentences were automatically imposed upon conviction for a number of crimes, including murder and drug trafficking, leaving judges absolutely no discretion.
Although the measure does not abolish the death penalty, it does provide judges the discretion to inflict hefty prison terms of between 30 and 40 years in certain circumstances.
Ramkarpal Singh, Malaysia’s deputy law minister, remarked in a speech before the lower house of parliament: “We cannot arbitrarily deny the presence of the intrinsic right to life of every human.”
Since 2018, there hasn’t been an execution in Malaysia, however, judges have nevertheless sent prisoners to death row.
Although the change still needs to pass the senate, there is no doubt that it won’t face much resistance. Phil Robertson, the deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, described the decision on Monday as a “significant step forward for Malaysia” and expressed the hope that other Southeast Asian countries will feel more pressure to do the same.
“This is an important breakthrough that will cause some serious conversations in the halls of upcoming ASEAN meetings,” he told AFP, referring to the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc.
“Malaysia should show regional leadership by encouraging other governments in ASEAN to re-think their continued use of the death penalty, starting with Singapore which has recently gone on a post-Covid execution spree.”
The rich city-state executed 11 people for drug offenses last year. Since gaining its independence in 1957, Malaysia has joined the group of nations that have abolished the death penalty.
