THERE should be no delay in tabling the bill to abolish the death penalty, said lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan today.

The former National Human Rights Society chairman said the bill should be tabled on December 10, in conjunction with International Human Rights Day.

“If they don’t do it now, they will keep backtracking,” she told the Abolition of the Death Penalty: Rationale and Implications forum in Kuala Lumpur.

“It would be a disgrace if it is not passed.

“The parliamentary sitting ends next week. It should be done by then.”

De facto law minister Liew Vui Keong has said the death sentence will be scrapped for 33 offences.

However, no bill towards this end has been tabled in Parliament.

Lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said the bill might not be tabled during the current parliamentary sitting, but gave an assurance that Pakatan Harapan will not go back on its word.

“There is no official reason as to why it has not yet been tabled. But it might be tabled in the March parliamentary sitting.

“What is important is that the death penalty must be abolished.”

He said it is possible that the government is studying stakeholders’ different views.

Ambiga questioned the delay, saying if the previous Barisan Nasional government could rush through the anti-fake news bill, PH could speed up the death penalty bill, too.

She said research on the death penalty should have been carried out before its abolition was mooted.

“The research should have been done before the announcement on the abolition was made.”

Currently, there are 2,081 convicts on death row for murder and drug offences.

Worldwide, 142 countries have abolished or repealed the death sentence. – December 4, 2018.