Form Parliamentary Special Select Committee to review laws

PETALING JAYA: A Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) should be set up to examine all existing laws which carries a mandatory death penalty, said Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, in a statement, said the PSSC would provide a platform for legal discourse and debates.

Azalina said while the government’s announcement was welcomed, it was only the first of many steps moving forward.

“We are left to speculate on many fronts, which inhibits many MPs like myself, from contributing constructively to the debate here,” she said.

On June 10, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Putrajaya had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty with a substitute or alternative sentence to be imposed at the discretion of the courts.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) said the decision was reached following the presentation of the Report on the Study of Substitute Sentences on Mandatory Death Penalty at the Cabinet meeting.

The Committee was led by former Chief Justice Tun Richard Malanjum and comprises legal experts.

“The report which Tun Richard Malanjum prepared but was not published to the public created more questions amongst MPs and rakyat,” said Azalina.

“The final say should be in the hands of the rakyat through their MPs,” she added.

Azalina said until the government decides on its next course of action, it could halt executions while a more detailed study is carried out.

She said various laws will have to be amended as the death penalty was entrenched in existing laws.