Malaysia abolishes mandatory death penalty for 11 of 33 crimes | Abroad

The country has so far issued the death penalty for 33 crimes. Eleven of these, such as murder, drug trafficking, terrorism and kidnapping, were subject to mandatory death penalty under Malaysian law. The new reform now allows judges to impose alternative punishments, such as prison sentences of up to 40 years or corporal punishment, such as caning.

The majority of the more than 1,300 people currently sentenced to death have been charged with drug offences. As the new law is recurrent, they will have 90 days to request a review of their verdict, the BBC writes.

Malaysia has been officially on a moratorium on executions since 2018, which the country has also complied with, according to Amnesty International. Human rights activists call the new law an “important step” but advocate for the complete abolition of the death penalty as soon as possible.

According to Elaine Pearson, Asia director at the NGO Human Rights Watch, Malaysia is now one step closer to the list of countries that have already completely abolished the death penalty. “Malaysia’s next step should be to completely stop the application of the penalty,” she said. Amnesty International also agrees and calls for a “more humane criminal justice system”.