Wee Ka Siong has called into questioned what he claims is Putrajaya's hastiness in pushing through the abolition of the death penalty.

The MCA deputy president said the government should at least allow a parliamentary select committee to vet the proposal first.

"I have proposed to the government to set up a parliamentary select committee to look into the abolition of death penalty, which was then echoed by Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Nga Kor Ming.

"But Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong is now saying that the government would not do so, as the Cabinet had already made a decision to put an end to capital punishment.

"I hope that the government can respect the role of Parliament in this instance. After all, abolishing the death penalty requires amendments to eight legislations, covering 32 offences," he said in a statement last night.

Wee questioned if the hastiness was to allow the extradition of convicted murder Sirul Azhar Umar from Australia, which has refused to comply because the country does not support the death penalty.

Sirul, a former bodyguard to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, was convicted of murdering Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"Between extraditing Sirul and an in-depth evaluation of abolishing the death penalty, which one is more important?

"There should be more effort put into discussing whether abolishing the death penalty is suitable for Malaysia at this stage," he said.

Wee also questioned the proposal to set up a victim compensation fund.

"How does the government plan to sustain this fund then? Will it cut other expenses or introduce new taxes? If so, which expenses will be affected?" he asked.