On April 3, 2023, the lower house (Dewan Rakyat) of the Malaysian Parliament voted to pass the Abolition of the 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. The upper house (Dewan Negara) subsequently passed the two bills on April 11, 2023. They have now been sent to the king to be signed into law.
The first bill would remove the country’s mandatory death penalty for certain serious crimes, such as murder and terrorism, making the punishment discretionary. It would also abolish the death penalty for some offenses that do not cause death, including kidnapping and certain firearm offenses. Furthermore, natural life imprisonment would be replaced by terms of imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years.
The second bill would empower the Federal Court to review death and natural life sentences that were previously handed down by the court for such crimes.
There are currently 34 death penalty offenses in Malaysia. Under the previous law, the sentence was mandatory for 12 of those crimes. The bill would remove the mandatory sentence contained in the following provisions:
- Section 121A of the Penal Code (Act 574), containing the offense of planning or intending to cause death or harm of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the king) or any of the rulers or Yang di-Pertua Negeri (heads of Malaysian states).
- Sections 130C, 130I, 130N, 130O, 130QA, and 13ZB of the Penal Code, containing various terrorism offenses.
- Section 302 of the Penal Code, containing the offense of murder.
- Section 374A of the Penal Code, containing the offense of hostage taking.
- Sections 39B(2A) and (2B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), related to drug trafficking.
- Section 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 (Act 37), containing the offense of discharging a firearm with the intent to harm or kill.
- Section 3A of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, regarding being an accomplice to those discharging a firearm with the intent to harm or kill.
Once the bill comes into force, the Penal Code offenses and drug offenses will be punishable by death or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, and with whipping of at least 12 strokes if the person is not sentenced to death. The firearm offenses will no longer be subject to the death penalty, but will instead be sanctioned with imprisonment for 30 to 40 years and 12 strokes of a whip. Human Rights Watch noted that the bill retains the death penalty for drug trafficking, which is the most common conviction for death row prisoners.
According to the Prisons Department of Malaysia, there are 1,324 prisoners on death row, including 484 foreigners. Of the total number of death row prisoners, 842 have been sentenced to death while 476 are still pending final review in the courts. The sentence revision bill passed in the Parliament would enable the 842 sentenced prisoners to submit a request for a review of their sentences (not their convictions) within 90 days of the bill coming into force. In addition, 117 prisoners serving natural life terms would be able to have their sentences reviewed.
There has been a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in Malaysia since 2018. The government also subsequently proposed to abolish the death penalty altogether, but this did not result in legislation being introduced in the Parliament. The country’s human rights commission, Suhakam, continues to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty for all crimes.
Kelly Buchanan, Law Library of Congress
April 14, 2023
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