Reforms to Malaysia's Death Penalty Laws

On 27 March 2023, two bills - the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 and the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Bill 2023 - were tabled in Parliament to abolish the mandatory death penalty and give judges discretion on sentencing, remove imprisonment for life until natural death as an alternative punishment, and grant the possibility to all those on death row to benefit from the reform.

We welcome the tabling of these bills as an important step toward the full abolition of the death penalty ...

On 27 March 2023, two bills - the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 and the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Bill 2023 - were tabled in Parliament to abolish the mandatory death penalty and give judges discretion on sentencing, remove imprisonment for life until natural death as an alternative punishment, and grant the possibility to all those on death row to benefit from the reform.

We welcome the tabling of these bills as an important step toward the full abolition of the death penalty, which is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. We urge the Members of Parliament and the Senate to:

1. lend their support to both bills, to seize this historic opportunity to end the use of the mandatory death penalty as an important step towards full abolition;
2. ensure that any resentencing process is in line with international fair trial standards, including by ensuring that those applying for review have adequate time, resources such as language support, and access to legal representation, and by guaranteeing their right to appeal the decision;
3. reject whipping - which is prohibited under international law - and other alternative punishments that contravene the prohibition against torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and
4. maintain the moratorium on all executions until the death penalty is fully abolished in Malaysia and all death sentences are commuted.

The tabling of these bills represents a unique opportunity for Malaysia to make significant advances towards full abolition. Your action is needed to strongly encourage our government representatives to ensure that Malaysia joins the majority of countries globally that have abolished the death penalty.

Click here to learn more about the use of the death penalty in Malaysia.

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Ask Prime Minister Ismail Sabri to keep his promise, and abolish the mandatory death penalty in the 3 October - 29 Nov 2022 Parliamentary session

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Dear Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob and Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar,

I write to express support for the Government of Malaysia’s commitment to table amendments to abolish the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia during the upcoming Parliamentary session in October. I commend the government’s move toward enacting more just and compassionate laws in lieu of the death penalty, which is not only a violation of the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but is also the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

As part of this positive and welcome change, I call on you to:

• Ensure that alternative sentences replacing the mandatory death penalty are still in line with international human rights law and standards;

• Initiate an individual judicial review of the cases of all individuals sentenced to the mandatory death penalty, with a view to commuting death sentences; and

• Maintain the official moratorium on executions until the death penalty is fully abolished and all death sentences are commuted.

I also look forward to seeing Malaysia join the majority of countries in the world that have fully abolished the death penalty. As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Malaysia must seize this important opportunity to progress towards the full enjoyment of the right to life. Such human rights leadership will undoubtedly resonate among other countries in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region more broadly.

The mandatory death penalty must end now and must lead toward the full abolition of this most inhuman punishment.

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