The death penalty now applies to those who commit murder, traffic in dangerous drugs or arms as well as those who commit treason, among others. However, the new Pakatan Harapan Government plans to abolish it, which means those currently in Death Row or who have been sentenced to death in future would only face life imprisonment, which may mean spending 20 years or less in jail, upon remission for good behaviour and after holidays are taken into account.
The proposal has not gone down well among families of murder victims, among others, who say there should not be a blanket abolition, while others say it should be left to the judges depending on the cases.
ADVERTISEMENT
Those for it say it is in line with the global trend while those against it say is being pushed through by MPs with a hidden agenda, pointing out that many of the MPs now in parliament and are vocal about it are lawyers and may have clients sitting in Death Row or are awaiting sentencing.
This raises the question of a conflict of interest and that such an important decision should be for the whole nation to decide in a referendum rather than by a select few deciding for 32 million Malaysians.
