Malaysia’s parliament votes to end death penalty

Kathmandu: Malaysia’s parliament on Monday approved legal reforms to remove the mandatory death penalty, trim the number of offences punishable by death, and abolish natural-life prison sentences.

The bill will now go to the country’s upper house (Dewan Negara) and then to the King to be signed into law. The amendments passed will apply to 34 offences currently punishable by death, including murder and drug trafficking.

Under the amendments passed, alternatives to the death penalty include whipping and imprisonment of between 30 to 40 years – replacing all previous provisions that call for imprisonment for the duration of the offender’s natural life.

Malaysia has had a moratorium on executions since 2018, when it first promised to abolish capital punishment entirely.

Life imprisonment sentences, defined by Malaysian law as a fixed term of 30 years, will be retained.

Capital punishment will also be removed as an option for some serious crimes that do not cause death, such as discharging and trafficking of a firearm and kidnapping, according to the new measures.