PETALING JAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that Malaysia will abolish the mandatory death and whipping sentences by next year, with amendments to the laws to be tabled in Parliament next month.
Wan Junaidi told English daily The Star that judges will be given the discretion to hand down the two sentences instead if the amendments are passed.
“This will also apply to whipping as it will be left to the discretion of the judges,” said Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi.
According to The Star, there are still 1,342 convicts facing the gallows as of June 2022.
Of the number, over 900 were convicted for drug trafficking while the remaining were for murder.
Of the total, 844 are Malaysians and 498 are foreigners from 40 countries.
The abolition of the mandatory death sentence was first raised by the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2018 and a moratorium on execution was then implemented.
