“That’s why we are discussing whether it is necessary for us to change the sentence or replace it with any penalty,” the deputy prime minister said.
Sirul, who was convicted of the 2006 murder of Mongolian citizen Altantuya Shaariibuu, was sentenced to hang together with his accomplice, Azilah Hadri. Their conviction was overturned in 2013 after questions were raised about how their trial was conducted.
The Federal Court upheld their death sentences in 2015, but Sirul had already fled the country by then. Australian law will not allow Sirul to be sent back to Malaysia as he faces the death sentence.
Altantuya was the lover of Abdul Razak Baginda, a former close associate of former prime minister Najib Razak.
Razak, accused of arranging kickbacks for the purchase of two French submarines in 2002, was originally charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul in the murder, but was acquitted by the High Court in 2008. The prosecution did not appeal against his acquittal.
Meanwhile, Wan Azizah noted that the previous government had deferred the death penalty for drug-related offences.
“The last Cabinet meeting resolved to implement the government decision to defer the death penalty imposed on 17 people convicted of drug offences.
“In a broader context, we also touched on the need to consider whether the same thing can be applied for offenders in other crimes,” she was quoted as saying by Bernama after launching an Islamic endowment initiative.