Malaysia will abolish the death penalty, with all executions halted for now.

The announcement was made by Malaysian Law Minister Liew Vui Keong on Oct. 10, according to Malaysian media outlets The Malay Mail and The Star.

Speaking to the press at Universati Malaya, Liew stated:

“Death penalty will be abolished. Full stop. Since we are abolishing the sentence, all executions should not be carried out.

We are studying certain issues... we need to look into it and hear the views of all, but as it stands today, the decision is to abolish the death penalty."

Death row convicts to either be commuted or released

Elaborating on the halting of executions, Liew stated that convicts on death row would either be released or have their sentences commuted:

"We will inform the Pardons Board to look into various applications for convicts on the (death penalty) waiting list to either be commuted or released".

As reported by The Star, Liew added that such decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis with regard to the nature of the crime committed:

"Drug-related offences will be different and considerations must be given to convicts who, for example, were drug mules compared to those who committed heinous crimes. 

We also need to comprehensively consider all cases, especially when it concerns the families of murdered victims."

Why abolish the death penalty?

As reported by the New York Times, abolishing the death penalty had been part of the election campaign platform of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s coalition, Pakatan Harapan.

However, at the time of campaigning, the measure had received little reaction.

What are the reactions?

The Star reports that many Malaysian lawyers, as well as the Malaysian Bar have welcomed the move.

Multiple lawyers have noted, however, that more efforts must also be taken for convict rehabilitation for the abolition to be truly effective.

One senior lawyer, Kitsoon Foong, was quoted as stating that the abolition had to be retrospective in effect:

“This is to account for hundreds of lives languishing on death row.

The Attorney General’s office, together with relevant stakeholders, must ensure the availability of sufficient prison infrastructure to accommodate the increased numbers of inmates".

What's more, Foong noted that:

"...without proper and effective measures of rehabilitation and reformation...the abolition might backfire as statistics proved that offenders who found themselves incapable of reconciling with society after prison release tended to re-offend."

A survey conducted by The Star found that 45 per cent of Malaysians felt that the death penalty should be kept to keep violent criminals at bay.

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Another 32 per cent of Malaysians agreed with the abolition but felt that it was still needed for violent crimes, especially for crimes against children.

Accordingly, the percentage of Malaysians who fully supported the abolition, on the basis that the death penalty had no place in modern society, came in at 23 per cent.

Over 3,600 Malaysians were surveyed.

Bill to be tabled on Oct. 15

According to the Malay Mail, Liew added that the Malaysian Attorney-General had given the green light for it to be tabled in Parliament.

It will therefore be tabled in an upcoming Parliament session that begins on Monday, Oct. 15.

Top image from Joelle's Postcrossing Facebook.

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