A BILL to abolish the mandatory death penalty has been passed unanimously by the Dewan Rakyat through a voice vote. 

The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 was tabled by deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh for its second and third reading today. 

The bill proposes to give judges discretionary powers in sentencing and allows judges the option to impose jail terms of up to 40 years in place of the mandatory death penalty. 

Ramkarpal said it was crucial to abolish the mandatory death penalty in favour of alternative sentences as the death penalty was “irreversible”. 

“The death penalty has not brought the results it was intended to bring,” he said when winding up the debate in the Dewan Rakyat today. 

A week ago, the bill was tabled for first reading by Law and Institutional Reform Minister Azalina Othman Said.  

When tabling the bill, Azalina said it would also be presented for a second reading during the current sitting of the Lower House.  

According to the blue copy of the bill circulated in parliament, it aims to abolish the mandatory death penalty and change the punishment to life imprisonment and whipping, as well as provide for matters related to it by amending seven related acts.  

The Acts are the Penal Code (Act 574), Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 (Act 37), Arms Act 1960 (Act 206), Kidnapping Act 1961 (Act 365), Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), Strategic Trade Act 2010 (Act 708), and Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593). – April 3, 2023.