Resolve fate of 1,300 death row prisoners, govt urged

Source: FMT (9 January 2023)

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/01/09/resolve-fate-of-1300-death-row-prisoners-govt-urged/

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Bar has urged the government to work with the Pardons Board to ensure that more than 1,300 convicted persons currently on death row are also spared the death penalty.

This follows a statement by law minister Azalina Othman Said last month that Putrajaya will amend laws that carry a mandatory death sentence to allow for alternative sentencing.

Bar president Karen Cheah said these prisoners should not be allowed to linger in prison uncertain of their fate.

At present, there is a moratorium on the execution of death row inmates.

“It is an inhumane way of treating convicts on death row,” she said at a ceremony to mark the opening of the legal year here today.

Cheah said as Malaysia progressed democratically, it must shift away from killing people in the name of justice.

She said these convicts deserve some baseline protection.

“We, therefore, welcome the announcement that the mandatory death penalty will be done away with in respect of 11 offences carrying such sentences, with the discretion as to sentencing returning to the unfettered domain of the judiciary,” she said.

Azalina had said amendment to the penal laws will be tabled at the next session of Parliament.

Cheah said the death penalty is cruel and degrading, and breaches the rights to life and to live free from torture.

She said sentencing should focus on rehabilitation and restoration, adding that the death penalty achieves very little except to satisfy the need for retribution.

“The irreversible, irreparable and non-deterrent nature of the death penalty should in and of itself be sufficient (reason) to abolish the death penalty,” she said.

On another matter, Cheah said that as of November last year, the National Legal Aid Foundation, or YBGK, had assisted 222,361 Malaysians.

It was established in 2012 with the help of the government, which had provided RM5 million to kickstart the programme.

Under the scheme, lawyers assisted the poor and needy by representing them in cases involving arrests, remands, mitigation and bail, trials and appeals.

Cheah said access to justice is the hallmark of a strong presence of the rule of the law in the country.

“The Bar, therefore, seeks to continue facilitating the provision of access to justice by lending the assistance of our members to Malaysians,” she said.

Cheah said it is the duty and responsibility of the government to ensure that access to justice remains strong and present.

“We urge that sufficient resources be made available for this programme to continue to be a success,” she said.