Malaysia has been planning on abolishing the death penalty.

As of Nov. 13, that plan is one step closer to reality.

The Malaysian Cabinet has decided that the death penalty will be abolished for 32 offences under eight acts of law, including murder, as reported by Malaysian media outlet Bernama.

The announcement was made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong on Nov. 13 in the Malaysian Parliament.

Accordingly, the eight affected Acts of law are:

• Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder
• Firearms (Heavier Penalties) Act 1971
• Firearms Act 1960 
• Kidnapping Act 1961 
• Armed Forces Act 1972 
• Water Services Industries Act 2006 
• Strategic Trade Act 2010 
• Dangerous Drugs Act 1952

Replacement sentence is a minimum of 30 years' imprisonment

As reported by The Straits Times, should the Cabinet decision be approved by the Malaysian Parliament, the death penalty will be replaced with a minimum sentence of 30 years in jail for these 32 offences.

Liew added that "a Cabinet memorandum has (since) been circulated to the relevant ministries for their comments and to get public feedback on it".

Channel NewsAsia reported that Liew's statement was in response to a question on whether there will be exceptions for crimes of exceptional cruelty.

Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP) Kevin Yii Lee Wuen had raised the question, citing the recent death of nine-month-old Nur Muazara Ulfa Mohammad Zainal from sexual abuse by her baby sitter as an example.

Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also gave a reply similar to Liew's, as reported by The Straits Times, when asked if the Malaysian government would keep the death penalty for child murders:

"We are reviewing it. The death penalty is one of those that we will review".

Meanwhile, Ramkarpal Singh, an MP from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) who has also been an outspoken advocate of abolishing the death penalty,  has suggested that the death penalty be retained in cases of murder, especially if it involves children.

As reported by Malaysian news outlet The Star, Ramkarpal acknowledged the concerns of families of murder victims, on how abolishing the death penalty could send the wrong signal that such crimes are not taken seriously enough:

"We cannot ignore such concerns.

I am of the view that there ought to be a discretion given to the courts to impose the death penalty in the most heinous of cases".

Support for the death penalty still remains

In any case, it would appear that among ordinary Malaysians, there is still a significant amount of support for keeping the death penalty.

Malaysian media outlet The New Straits Times reported that in a survey conducted in October, 82 percent of 22,000 netizens polled opposed the abolition of the death penalty, with many of them citing the emboldening of hardcore criminals as a core concern.

Another survey conducted by The Star of up to 3,600 Malaysians found that 45 percent of Malaysians felt that the death penalty should be kept to keep violent criminals at bay.

Another 32 percent 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, was 23 percent.

Top image from Joelle’s Postcrossing Facebook.