by Joseph Masilamany

Although mandatory death penalty was abolished in 2023, many death sentences in Malaysia still involve drug offences. Concerned about the situation, Amnesty International (AI) calls for a moratorium, highlighting human rights violations. For AI Interim Executive Director Vilasini Vijandran, the country’s credibility is undermined. The gap between lower and higher courts on this matter is growing.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) – Amnesty International Malaysia has expressed strong concern about the continued use of the death penalty in the Southeast Asian country for drug-related offences, despite extensive reforms that should have led to the end of the practice.

Vilasini Vijandran, Interim Executive Director of Amnesty International, noted that 38 per cent of the new death sentences issued by the High Court in recent months concern drug-related crimes, raising doubts about the country's real willingness to comply with international human rights standards.

In 2024, the Middle East had the highest number of death sentences: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia alone carried out 91 per cent of global executions.

In its latest report, Amnesty International slams the use of the death penalty against dissent and minorities; instead, it calls for a moratorium, highlighting serious violations of prisoners’ rights, in particular for drug offences.

With respect to international law, in a statement AI executive director stressed that drug-related crimes do not fall into the category of "most serious crimes" – a classification reserved, according to the United Nations, for crimes such as intentional homicide, in which capital punishment can possibly be justified, but only in exceptional cases.

Abolition “would also considerably strengthen Malaysia’s ability to advocate for its own nationals facing execution overseas once its foreign policy commitments are supported by real and lasting reforms at home,” she said.

While the High Court handed down all recent death sentences, data show that the Federal Court upheld only 43 death sentences in total, none of them for drug offences. This shows a widening gap between lower courts’ decisions and higher courts’ supervision, further highlighting the need for greater consistency in the application of justice after the reform.

In July 2023 Malaysia abolished the automatic mandatory death penalty for 11 crimes, including murder, terrorism and drug trafficking, a step widely hailed as historic.

Courts were given a margin of discretion to impose alternative penalties, like 30 to 40 years jail time or flogging, thus overcoming the uniform approach criticised for years.

As a result of the change, the number of people on death row shrunk by nearly 90 per cent, as many sentences were commuted to long prison sentences.

Despite the progress, Vilasini Vijandran noted that the retention of the death penalty for drug offences, albeit at the discretion of the courts, still represents a stain on Malaysia's human rights profile, especially now that the country holds the presidency of ASEAN.

For Vilasini, removing the death penalty for drug-related offences would set a powerful precedent in the region.

“Continuing to sentence individuals to death for non-lethal crimes, especially in light of Malaysia’s own legal reforms, undermines the country’s credibility on the global stage,” she added.

Southeast Asia remains one of the few regions in the world where the death penalty is still actively enforced, particularly for drug-related offences.

Singapore maintains a hard-line and continues to carry out hangings under the Misuse of Drugs Act, resuming executions in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesia retains the death penalty for serious crimes, including drug-related offences, but has not carried out any sentences since 2016, which represents a de facto moratorium.

Thailand still allows the death penalty, but no executions have taken place since 2018 and the role of judicial discretion is growing.

Vietnam continues to execute people, but the numbers are a state secret (like in China and North Korea). Most are believed to involve drug-related offences.

The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006, but the remains on the political agenda with calls for its reintroduction, especially in relation to drug trafficking.

In this context, Malaysia's 2023 reforms were welcomed as a step forward. However, the continued use of capital punishment for drug offences, even if at the discretion of judges, puts the country at odds with a regional and global trend increasingly oriented towards the abandonment of the death penalty, particularly for non-violent crimes.

• malaysia
• death penalty
• criticism
• abolition
• drug-related offences