Malaysian lawmakers have recently voted to remove the mandatory death penalty for 11 serious crimes, including murder and terrorism, out of 34 criminal offences punishable by death in Malaysia.
However, Judges will retain discretion to impose capital punishment in exceptional cases.
Speaking in parliament on Monday, Malaysia’s deputy law minister Ramkarpal Singh said, “the death penalty has not brought the results it was intended to bring.”
After debating the issue for over a decade, only in June last year, the government has announced it would abolish the death penalty as a mandatory punishment.
According to report, more than 1,300 prisoners are currently on death row in Malaysia.The new laws once enacted it will allow them to seek a review of their sentences.
Human Rights Watch said it hoped this move might influence neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Myanmar.
According to official data obtained by BBC News, some 1,318 prisoners were hanged between 1992 and 2023 in Malaysia.
