Malaysia’a Cabinet has agreed to abolish the death penalty, a senior Minister said on October 11, 2018.
Capital Punishment in Malaysia is exclusively carried out by hanging and is currently mandatory for offences like murder, kidnapping, possession of firearms and drug trafficking, among other crimes.
Communications and multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo confirming that the cabinet had resolved to end the death penalty has said that “I hope the law will be amended soon.”
The significant decision to scrap capital punishment was taken after strong domestic opposition to the practice. The move was welcomed by rights advocates.
“The death penalty is barbarous and unimaginably cruel,” N. Surendran, an advisor with the Lawyers for Liberty rights group said in a statement.
Once the death penalty is scrapped, Malaysia will have the moral authority to fight for the lives of Malaysians facing death sentences abroad, N. Surendran added.
