Instead, a jail term of between 30 and 40 years and at least 12 strokes of the rotan has been proposed.

In a Bernama report, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said these are among several new policies being considered as the government works towards abolishing the mandatory death penalty.

“Also, natural life imprisonment will be completely abolished.

“The death penalty will be abolished for offences that do not cause death, except for three offences under Sections 121 and 121A of the Penal Code and Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” she said in the Dewan Negara today.

Sections 121 and 121A of the Penal Code relate to offences against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, a Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri, and for waging war against them. Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 relates to drug trafficking.

Azalina said a new bill will also be introduced to enable death sentences or natural life imprisonment already imposed by courts to be reviewed by the Federal Court.

“This will have an impact on 957 people who are on death row and those on natural life imprisonment who have exhausted their appeal process in court,” she said.

Azalina said this in response to Senator Koh Nai Kwong’s question about the status of planned alternative punishments for the mandatory death penalty.

Azalina said the government’s aim is not to totally abolish the death penalty, but instead give judges the discretion to decide.

Azalina said the first reading of the Mandatory Death Penalty Abolition Bill 2023 and the Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Review Bill (Federal Court Provisional Jurisdiction) 2023 will be on Monday.

“The Mandatory Death Penalty Abolition Bill 2023 is expected to affect 476 death row inmates who have not completed the appeal process, either at the Court of Appeal or the Federal Court,” she said.

“This is as the alternative punishment to the mandatory death penalty and will be applied retroactively,” she said.

Azalina said the government organised 19 engagement sessions and meetings with stakeholders, such as government agencies, lawyers, former chief justices, constitutional experts, final-stage prison inmates and their families, as well as NGOs such as Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan) as well as Reprieve in the United Kingdom.

“The legislative amendment involving judgment and alternative punishment policies to the mandatory death penalty signals a positive change to the criminal justice system in Malaysia so that it is more holistic and inclusive, besides not denying the individual’s basic right to get due justice,” she said.