PETALING JAYA: The legislative amendments needed to abolish the mandatory death penalty, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament in October, has been welcomed by pro-life groups and advocates.

       Former diplomat Datuk Noor Farida Mohd Ariffin said many non-government organisations have been asking for the abolition of the death penalty for years.

       “I think whichever political party that forms the government after the general election should also continue with the policy to abolish the death penalty,” she said when contacted yesterday.

       Former de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, a lawyer, said amendments to the law should have been done a long time ago.

       “When I was Law Minister, I tried (to push for amendments to the laws) but we did not get the support. But today Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is also a lawyer ... I believe he is also supporting this,” he said.

       Nazri said besides setting a good example to other countries, the move would also give judges more options in sentencing.

       “Our prime minister tried to appeal for a Malaysian who was sentenced to hang in Singapore (Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam), but the thing is, we don’t have the moral right to do so because we practice the same.

       “So if we want to appeal for the over 200 Malaysians who were sentenced for being drug mules, we have to set an example.

       “Secondly, ‘mandatory’ means that the judge will have no choice if the person is found guilty of possession drugs, they need to be sentenced to death, however, this might go against some of the judge’s beliefs.

       “So the judge might just set the person free, saying that we don’t have enough evidence. This might lead to a miscarriage of justice,” he said.

       The Padang Rengas MP also strongly believed that it is unfair to sentence drug mules to death given that some of them come from poor backgrounds, are less educated and could have been duped.

       North-South Initiative executive director and co-founder Adrian Pereira said: “The death sentence is an inhumane and archaic punishment which has no positive impact on the criminal justice system in Malaysia.

       “If we follow international human rights standards, we have to progress and proceed as a member of the UN Human Rights Council and this is a step in the right direction regardless of who sits in Putrajaya.”

       The move, he said, will not only benefit Malaysians but also migrants currently on death row who will now have an opportunity for redemption.

       Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had said that he hoped to have the first reading in October and for the mandatory death sentence to be abolished by next January.