In a statement, Bar president Ezri Abdul Wahab said it was strongly against the death penalty, calling it “cruel, inhumane and irreversible”.

This comes after Singaporean death row inmate Hamzah Ibrahim was given a last-minute stay of execution, just days after Malaysian Pannir Selvam also received a reprieve.

“The Malaysian Bar has always opposed the death penalty because it does not belong in a just and caring society.

“One major problem is the risk of wrongful convictions, which cannot be undone,” he said.

Ezri also cited a UN study showing there was no proof executions had a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment.

He said Malaysia could use the opportunity to also create a prisoner transfer agreement among member countries.

“The agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia regarding the repatriation of Mary Jane Veloso demonstrates diplomatic and legal mechanisms for prisoner transfer are not only feasible, but can also be a powerful tool for regional cooperation,” he said.

Veloso, a Filipina sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking in 2010, claimed she was a victim of human trafficking.

After years of appeals by the Philippines, both countries agreed last year that she could serve her remaining sentence in the Philippines.

Ezri said the Veloso case showed that an Asean-wide agreement could be reached while respecting the judicial rights of its member countries.

He said a regional agreement would make prisoner transfers easier than negotiating each case separately, and could set clear rules on who would qualify, how transfers work and what rights prisoners would have.