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On Apr. 3, the Malaysian parliament passed a bill to abolish the mandatory death penalty.

The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 was tabled for its second and third reading by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh in parliament, Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported.

It was tabled for its first reading by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Ohman Said on Mar. 27, The Star reported.

Following a debate by 10 MPs on the Bill, it was passed through a voice vote after which Ramkarpal gave a winding-up speech.

Since 2018, Malaysia has already put a moratorium on capital punishment, Nikkei Asia reported.

In June 2022, Malaysia's government announced its decision to scrap the mandatory death penalty.

Considerations for abolishment

Noting that capital punishment was “irreversible”, Ramkarpal said that it was important to abolish the mandatory death penalty in favour of alternative sentences, FMT reported.

“The death penalty has not brought the results it was intended to bring,” he remarked in his speech.

“This decision also considered other factors such as the principle of proportionality, which is whether the death penalty sentence is proportionate with the crime committed, the human rights of the offender and whether restorative justice will be achieved.”

Ramkarpal pointed out that the opinions of murder victims’ family members had been taken into consideration.

He also said that Malaysia’s criminal justice system was created a long time ago and many existing provisions are now obsolete, according to Bernama.

Therefore, the government’s decision was “the right step in efforts to create a legal system which is dynamic, progressive and relevant to current needs,” said Ramkarpal.

So what's the Bill?

It is important to note that the abolishment of the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia is not equivalent to the total abolishment of capital punishment.

Ramkarpal said that the death penalty still existed and the Bill proposed that judges be given discretionary powers in sentencing, The Star reported.

The death penalty will remain for 11 offences, such as Section 121A which is an offence against Malaysia’s King or rulers, Section 130C which is committing terrorist acts and Section 302 which is murder.

Appropriate alternative punishment for these 11 offences that lead to mandatory death penalty include imprisonment for an extended period of time and whipping, Bernama quoted Ramkarpal as saying.

It is up to the court’s discretion to impose capital punishment or imprisonment for a period of at least 30 years but less than 40 years. If not sentenced to death, there must be a punishment with minimally 12 strokes of the rattan.

There is also a court mechanism that enables judges to consider testimonies by victims’ families with regard to compensation, according to Malaysiakini.

Ramkarpal noted the Bill’s drafting was an omnibus act due to its inclusion of amendments to several bills.

This included the Penal Code, Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, Arms Act 1960, Kidnapping Act 1961, Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, Strategic Trade Act 2010 as well as the Criminal Procedure Code, Bernama reported.

Current situation

There are 1,324 prisoners on death row, according to the Prisons Department of Malaysia cited by Nikkei Asia.

476 cases are currently being reviewed while 840 prisoners have already been sentenced to death.

For these 840 prisoners, the Malaysian government has also passed the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Bill 2023, Malay Mail reported.

This Bill proposed to empower the Federal Court in retrospectively reviewing death sentences previously delivered for offences where it was mandatory upon conviction, such as drug trafficking and murder.

Once it is passed, prisoners may submit an application to the Federal Court within 90 days of the Bill being enacted into law.

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