He was sentenced to death 23 years ago when he was caught with 851gm of cannabis.

But Siti Zabidah’s prayers were answered on Monday when Parliament passed sweeping legal reforms to scrap the mandatory death penalty.

“The joy was immense,” said Siti Zabidah, speaking from her apartment here.

She said her son said a friend forced him to carry the drugs and then made him a scapegoat after being arrested.

A judge rejected an earlier attempt by the family to file an appeal against the sentence.

She recounted how she collapsed after hearing the judge’s decision, fearing the legal avenues for her son were shut.

“I can go on without a husband but not without my children,” she said.

More than 1,300 people facing the death penalty or life imprisonment in Malaysia, including those who have exhausted all legal appeals, can seek a sentencing review under the new rules passed on Monday.

The amendments apply to 34 offences currently punishable by death, including murder and drug trafficking. Eleven of those have stipulated death as the mandatory punishment.

For now, life imprisonment sentences, defined by law as a fixed term of 30 years, will be retained.

The fate of Siti Zabidah’s son lies in the hands of the courts, which will decide on a possible alternative sentencing or punishment.

Alternatives to the death penalty under the new rules include caning and a jail term of up to 40 years.

Siti Zabidah added that she would stand by her son regardless of the legal outcome.

“As long as I’m alive, I’ll (continue to) give him strength,” she said.