Speaking at a press conference here, Nicole Fong, a research and advocacy officer at Amnesty, said commitment to reform must go beyond maintaining the current moratorium on executions.

“The pardon process is deeply flawed – there are no clear criteria for what qualifies as a pardon, no legal aid is provided, and families are often left in the dark about decisions,” she said.

Fong said that 1,056 death row cases were reviewed between November 2023 and October 2024 as part of the temporary resentencing process, resulting in 854 reduced sentences.

The total number of cases where sentences were revised, including through review by the apex court, stands at 1,016.

However, 43 individuals had their sentences affirmed while 22 had their applications cancelled for reasons not publicly disclosed.

Another four inmates died before their cases could be heard.

“These figures highlight not only the progress made, but also the pressing need for transparency and accountability,” Fong said.

She also pointed to what she called a disproportionate number of new death sentences for drug-related offences coming from the High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak.

Six out of nine drug-related cases in 2024 originated from East Malaysia, compared to just three in Peninsular Malaysia.

Recently, the NGO said that Malaysia’s death row population had fallen by nearly 90%, with many sentences converted to long-term imprisonment.