Gobind seeks update on death penalty reviews following amendments

PARLIAMENT | Gobind Singh Deo (Pakatan Harapan -Damansara) has called on the government to reveal follow-up action since the government passed amendments that abolished the mandatory death sentence for 12 offences earlier in the year.

In a question to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, Gobind asked how many of those currently on death row have applied for their sentences to be reviewed.

"I would like to ask the minister what is the progress (on these cases) now that the mandatory sentence has been abolished.

"After we abolished the mandatory sentence, a procedure was created so that those who are still waiting for the punishment be allowed to submit a review application to the courts to confirm whether the death penalty is still maintained or modified.

"And I would like to know what is the cost involved in this matter, how many applications have been completed so far, what is the process and also the time frame for the applications to be processed," said Gobind in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Earlier, the government passed two laws to repeal the mandatory death penalty and establish a resentencing process for those with capital punishment and imprisonment for natural life.

The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 removes the mandatory death penalty for 12 offences including drug trafficking, murder, treason and terrorism.

The law also removes the death penalty entirely as an option for seven offences - including attempted murder and kidnapping.

The Act, as well as the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023, were passed by the Dewan Rakyat on April 3 and Dewan Negara on April 11.

Upon the laws taking effect, 90 days was allowed for those sentenced to death or imprisonment for natural life, with their sentences upheld by the Federal Court, to apply for resentencing.

Aside from these amendments, a moratorium on the death penalty has already been in place since 2017.

Backlog in courts?

Gobind also inquired about allocating funds to address the backlog in case management, particularly criminal cases involving remand.

"I was informed that in the courts, there are times when cases have already been halfway through but when there is a postponement, the next date given is between six and eight months into the next year.

"I would like to ask if this backlog is serious and if it is, can we allocate more funds so that maybe we can establish more courts to deal with this problem and also appoint more judges," he said.

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