'M'sia moving towards abolition of death sentence'
By News Desk in Kuala Lumpur/The Star | Asia News Network – Wed, Dec 12, 2012
Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - Malaysia has seen
positive developments in the move towards abolishing the death penalty,
said European Union ambassador and head of delegation to Malaysia Luc
Vandebon.
"Progress is in the making. While public opinion reportedly favours
capital punishment, there is a change of mood and atmosphere.
"A simple indicator is that the number of death sentences far exceeds
the number of executions. In 2010, a large number of death row convicts
were pardoned or had their sentences commuted. Of the 114 sentenced to
death, there was only one reported execution.
"Furthermore, influential and high-level personalities have spoken
out against the death penalty," he said at the grand finals of the
Pleadings Competition among university law students held at the
Parliament building in Kuala Lumpur.
Among those present were National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam)
president Hasmy Agam, Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee, Dewan Negara
deputy president Doris Brodie and diplomats.
In October, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz
said the government would look into abolishing the mandatory death
sentence for drug offences and replacing them with alternative
sentences.
He cited the 250 Malaysians arrested as drug mules and sentenced to death overseas as one of the reasons.
Removing the mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking, Vandebon
said, would be an important first step towards complete abolition and
would provide for new opportunities. He suggested replacing the death
penalty with a life sentence.
"It will make it possible to disprove the thesis that, if you abolish
the mandatory death penalty, the crime rate goes up," he said, adding
that there were over 900 currently on the death row with almost
two-thirds sentenced for drug offences.
"Singapore has recently introduced amendments to its mandatory death
penalty regime. Thailand has abolished the death penalty for juvenile
offenders. Indonesia is moving away from the capital sentence." - Yahoo News
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