PUTRAJAYA will table a bill to abolish the mandatory death penalty at the February parliamentary sitting, Azalina Othman Said said.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the proposal for an alternative treatment to the mandatory death penalty was discussed at the cabinet meeting today.

“I wish to stress that the amendment will not remove the death penalty from the law but will give the court discretionary power to mete out sentences based on the facts of the case,” she said in a statement.

Azalina said the implementation of the alternative punishment proposal is the government’s commitment to ensure that the execution of the abolition of the mandatory death penalty is scrutinised in detail and from all aspects.

She said the attorney-general has scrutinised the proposed substitute sentence for 11 offences carrying the mandatory death penalty, one offence under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), and 23 other offences that carry the death penalty but at the discretion of the court.

Azalina said the alternative punishment proposal is the government’s commitment to ensure the abolition of the mandatory death penalty is scrutinised in detail from all aspects.

“The criminal justice system is the main foundation for a safe and peaceful society.

“Therefore, the government will also consider follow-up studies involving the reformation of the criminal justice system such as a more effective sentencing policy, caning punishment and reform of the prison system, which includes measures to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

“Focus will also be given to the punishment approach that is based on rehabilitation and restorative justice,” she said in the statement.

According to The Star, there are still 1,342 convicts facing the gallows as of June.

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.

She said the moratorium on execution remains. – December 21, 2022.