PETALING JAYA: The lives of nearly 1,350 death-row inmates are hanging in the balance in the country’s prisons.

       With a moratorium on executions, they are in a limbo, not knowing when their sentences will be carried, or if their lives will be spared, as laws to abolish the mandatory death penalty remain unsettled.

       “I have discussed this (those on death row due to the moratorium on death sentences) with the Attorney General’s Chambers in early May,” said Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

       “It will require a lot of amendments to several laws such as the Penal Code, Dangerous Drugs Act and Criminal Procedure Code.

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       “There is also the consideration on what the alternative punishments can be,” said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Parliament and Law.

       “I will have to communicate with all relevant parties to settle all these matters first,” he said during a recent interview with the media in Putrajaya.

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       As of February this year, there were a total of 1,341 inmates on death row, based on figures given by the Prime Minister’s Department in a response to a written reply in Parliament.

       Of this, 62.3% or 835 were Malaysians and 506 or 37.7% were foreigners coming from 40 countries.

       A total of 905 cases involved mandatory death sentences for drug trafficking while 403 were for those convicted of murder.

       Wan Junaidi acknowledged that attempts by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration in 2019 to do away with the mandatory death penalty ran into several issues.

       Among them, he noted, was not merely amending a slew of laws but also what to do with those on death row and those facing ongoing trials under existing laws punishable by death.

       “What will happen to them?” he said, adding that laws to abolish the death penalty would not operate retrospectively.

       He cited an example where those currently on death row but on a moratorium could appeal against their execution.

       He said there was a suggestion that a special panel be set up to look into their cases.

       “What power does the panel have to review these cases when they were already decided by the court?” he asked.

       He said more time was needed to resolve these issues before any draft proposal to abolish the mandatory death penalty could be submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

       Wan Junaidi gave an assurance that the moratorium on the death sentence was still in effect.

       “The moratorium remains as long as the government hasn’t decided on the abolition of the death sentence,” he said.

       The moratorium was imposed pending approval of the proposed amendments covering 11 crimes punishable by death.

       The proposed abolition on the mandatory death penalty has been in the limelight again since Malaysian Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was executed in Singapore for drug trafficking.

       The issue had taken a back seat since 2020, when the collapse of the Pakatan administration saw the draft laws being put on hold.

       “The issue is not on our agenda at the moment because we have been looking at the forced labour issue,” said Parliament Special Select Committee on Fundamental Liberties and Human Rights member Charles Santiago.

       “It is unfortunate the issue of the mandatory death penalty was left aside.

       “It caused debate among netizens who questioned the fate of those on death row here,” he said when contacted.

       The Klang MP said he would raise the matter with the SSC next month.