Government must move towards total abolition of death penalty

THE National Human Rights Society for Malaysia (Hakam) commends the present government for tabling the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on March 27. This is a progressive step taken by the government to advance human rights in Malaysia.

Mandatory use of the death penalty denies judges the possibility of considering the mitigating circumstances of the accused or the offences when delivering a proportionate and fair sentence.

Indeed, the mandatory death penalty is a fundamental infringement of fair trial guarantees and is notably prohibited under international human rights law.

With the proposed amendment, judges are now given the option to decide on either imposing the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years and at least 12 strokes of the rotan.

The government has also proposed two related amendments – abolition of the “natural life” sentence and replacing it with imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, and to grant temporary jurisdiction to the Federal Court to review the death sentence of the 1,318 inmates currently on death row. This means they will be accorded a re-sentencing process.

However, Hakam believes that imprisonment for life should be between 20 and 30 years, and whipping should be abolished altogether as it is a barbaric and utterly cruel punishment.

Hakam notes that there is no empirical evidence or data supporting the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent against crime. On the other hand, the right to life must be upheld.

While international law allows countries to retain the death penalty for “the most serious crimes”, it must adhere to the highest standard of fair trial, and these countries must move towards total abolition eventually.

We note that more than 70% of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law and in practice. Hence Hakam will press on with the total abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia.

The proposed amendments to abolish the mandatory death penalty are a small but significant step in that direction.

Hakam acknowledges all the stakeholders advocating this reform, and also the government for its political will to push it forward. We call on Parliamentarians to support this Bill, which would hopefully include our proposed amendment to reduce the life sentence to between 20 and 30 years and remove whipping completely.

We further call for the government to continue the moratorium on executions until the death penalty is abolished and all death sentences are commuted.

GURDIAL SINGH NIJAR

President,

National Human Rights Society for Malaysia (Hakam)