The Malaysian Parliament has approved on Monday a series of amendments to abolish the mandatory death penalty for certain crimes, which maintains a moratorium on executions since 2018, although capital punishment has not been fully abolished in the Asian country.
The reforms, endorsed by the legislature in a vote after a lengthy debate on the proposals, provide for the withdrawal of the mandatory death penalty for certain crimes, reduce the number of acts punishable by capital punishment and abolish life sentences.
The death penalty is maintained in certain cases. We have to have confidence in the judiciary to make decisions,» said Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister for Law and Institutional Reform, Ramkarpal Singh, as reported by the Malaysian daily »The Star».
Thus, the proposal provides for judges to have the option of imposing sentences of up to 40 years in prison and no less than 12 lashes instead of the death penalty. Singh stressed that statistics in other countries show that the absence of capital punishment does not lead to an increase in crime rates.
Malaysia has maintained a moratorium on executions since 2018, when authorities promised to abolish the death penalty. However, the Malaysian government backtracked a year later because of political pressure and stated that it would maintain capital punishment for certain crimes.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
