Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured that the federal government is considering the views of the families of high-profile murder victims in relation to the plan to abolish the death penalty.

He said the government was studying their objections as well as their claim that the abolition of the capital punishment would remove the seriousness of murder and result in a rise in crime.

"Yes, we are studying if the claim is accurate or not. People cannot form their assessment unless we have an actual study that there is a rise (in crime) or not.

"But we care about their opinions," he said during a press conference after attending a Kelantan Pakatan Harapan event in Kota Bahru today.

He was responding to comments made by the families of cosmetic businessperson Sosilawati Lawiya, public prosecutor Kevin Morais and HSBC banker Wong Jing Kui who objected to any abolition of the death penalty.

They had stated that the abolishment would be unfair to them and the deceased and that it could send a strong signal to those who intended to take the law into their own hands.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong had said in October that Putrajaya was committed to the "total abolition" of the death penalty and announced a moratorium on all death sentences.

However, he said this did not mean that death row convicts would be let off free.

Instead, their sentences would be commuted to imprisonment for life or at least a minimum of 30 years.

At present, there are 1,267 prisoners on death row with around 900 of them convicted for drug-related offences.