August 08, 2017
PGA congratulates the government of Malaysia for having announced through a parliamentary response dated 7 August 2017 that the Cabinet had approved a bill that would abolish the mandatory death penalty for drug-related crimes. The bill – which would finally amend Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act to give the judiciary the discretion to impose the sentence they see fit - should be introduced to Parliament soon.
This welcomed new development comes only a few days after PGA held on 27 July 2017 a Parliamentary roundtable on the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia and in Asia, in the Parliament of Malaysia. This roundtable was convened by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), in the framework of its partnership with Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM), the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) and the Civil Rights Committee of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), funded by the European Commission and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Hosted by Honourable Kula Segaran, Secretary of PGA’s National Group in Malaysia and Member of PGA’s Executive Committee, and Honourable Dato Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, Chairman of PGA’s National Group in Malaysia and Minister of Culture and Tourism, this event was an opportunity for Malaysian MPs, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to engage in a meaningful debate on how to further reduce the scope of the death penalty in Malaysia and other countries of the region.
During the opening session of the roundtable, Hon. Azalina Othman Said, Minister of Law, had addressed the participants announced that the bill doing away with the mandatory aspect of capital punishment for drug-related crimes would be adopted by the Cabinet in the coming weeks.
The participants also adopted an Action Plan aimed at defining strategies to push back on the death penalty. PGA strongly encourages all Malaysian MPs to engage on the issue and to demonstrate by their vote on the bill on the mandatory death penalty that they are committed to the abolitionist cause.
“As parliamentarians who have long been fighting to reduce the scope of the capital punishment in our country, we are pleased to see Minister Othman moving forward with the bill on mandatory death penalty for drug related-offences. We encourage all our colleagues to vote in favour of that bill when it comes before us in Parliament. We also commit once again of pursuing a moratorium on execution and abolition of this cruel punishment that is the death penalty, once and for all.”
Honourable Kula Segaran, Secretary of PGA’s National Group in Malaysia and Member of PGA’s Executive Committee
PGA’s Campaign for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, created in 2014, will continue to support, enhance and maximize the impact of individual initiatives by parliamentarians to further the abolition of the capital sentence, as well as lead targeted campaigns in selected countries to ensure concrete advancements on the abolition processes.
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