THE Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has called on the government to release the report completed by its special committee assigned to review alternative sentences to the mandatory death penalty.

“The study conducted by the special committee appointed by the late Liew Vui Keong (former law minister under the Pakatan Harapan administration) has been completed and the report submitted to the previous government.

“The recommendations and transitionary measures for current death row prisoners should be made public, thereby allowing for legislators, policymakers and society to expedite the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia,” Suhakam said in a statement in conjunction with the World Day Against the Death Penalty today.

Suhakam said the government in 2020 was among 120 member states that voted in support of the 75th United Nations general assembly’s resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

“It is important to highlight that the resolution recommended that states should guarantee the right to a fair trial, and to limit the imposition of the death penalty to the most serious crimes, pending the abolition of the death penalty,” Suhakam said.

It added that the government in 2020 had said to set up a law reform commission to study existing laws, as well as to recommend for the necessary amendments or repeal sentencing procedures if found to be outdated or archaic. 

Suhakam hopes Malaysia will fall into line with international human rights standards and with the belief in a person’s fundamental right to life. – October 10, 2021.