Activists laud ‘first step’ to totally abolishing death penalty

 

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network executive coordinator Dobby Chew (left) and Lawyers for Liberty adviser N Surendran praised the government for this long-awaited decision.

PETALING JAYA: Human rights activists have lauded the government’s decision to abolish the mandatory death penalty, saying this is the first step towards totally doing away with the death sentence in Malaysia.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) adviser N Surendran said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government deserved praise for this long-awaited decision, adding that this was “the right thing to do”.

“However, the government must not stop there. The current moratorium on executions must continue until a full abolition of the death penalty is achieved.

“The death penalty is cruel, irreversible and has no effect in preventing serious crime. Our society must not stop until capital punishment is thrown into the rubbish heap of history,” he told FMT.

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan) executive coordinator Dobby Chew also welcomed Putrajaya’s announcement on the matter, saying it was about time that the mandatory death sentence be abolished.

Chew said that judges must have the discretion to sentence offenders based on the facts of each case so as to ensure that justice was served.

“The mandatory death penalty has been a source of injustice in our criminal justice system,” he told FMT, adding that the move to abolish it was long overdue.

Singaporean human rights lawyer M Ravi applauded Putrajaya’s move and hoped the republic would soon follow in Malaysia’s footsteps.

“It’s so heartening that Malaysia has taken this enlightened path after years of campaigning,” said Ravi, who briefly represented Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who was executed in Singapore in April.  

Rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) said this decision gave judges the discretion to mete out an alternative sentence rather than the death penalty.

It agreed with Surendran and Chew that Putrajaya should go on to abolish the death penalty as a whole, but said today’s announcement was a “significant step forward”. 

Earlier today, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Putrajaya had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty, giving judges discretion in sentencing.

The Cabinet had also agreed for a further study to be carried out on the proposed substitute sentences for 11 offences carrying the mandatory death penalty, one of which is under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

Previously, lawyers and interest groups had called for a moratorium on the execution of death row inmates until Parliament voted on a bill seeking the abolition of the death penalty.

A total of 1,359 people were reported to be on death row as of November last year. - FMT