Amnesty International Malaysia today said the government must stop sending people to the gallows pending a review of laws that currently carries the mandatory sentence.

At the launch of its annual report in Petaling Jaya here, AI Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni said the proposed review is a positive sign for the country.

"We currently impose the death penalty for murder, drug trafficking and the use of firearms as well as kidnapping in certain circumstances.

"A positive sign, however, is that the Attorney-General's Chambers and de facto law minister Nancy Shukri had mentioned that the mandatory death penalty would be abolished," she said.

Shamini ( photo ) noted that the proposed amendments to laws which carries the death penalty are expected to be tabled in Parliament at the upcoming March session.

"But what is missing in the mean time since the announcement was made (to abolish death penalty) is that there is no moratorium on sentencing and executions.

"People are still being sentenced to death by the courts and we are urging the Malaysian government to impose moratorium on the use of death penalty as well as a moratorium on executions," she stressed.

Nancy had in December last year said the AG's Chambers was still in the process of studying the legal issues, policies and effectiveness of the implementation of the death penalty in the country.

She also reportedly said the scope of the study was not limited to status of the mandatory death penalty, but encompassed the entire provision of the death penalty enforced in the country, as well as its implementation.

Shamini, meanwhile, also urged governments within the Asean region to come up with a collective solution to manage the movement of migrants.

"Now countries often bicker about border protection and migration management rather than taking decisive action.

"Each country has different laws and so each country cannot only act on its own," she said, citing for example cases involving Rohingya refugees and migrant workers.

The main focus, Shamini added, would be to ensure the protection of basic human rights as stated under the United Nations universal declarations of human rights.