Proportionality

Introducing concepts of “proportionality” as part of efforts to “improve the criminal justice system,” Malaysia has abolished the mandatory sentencing of the death penalty for 11 different offenses. Hailed as a victory for death penalty abolitionists, the ruling, rather than repealing the death penalty altogether, places sentencing decisions into the hands of the judge to arbitrate whether capital punishment is warranted. Southeast Asia is one of the leading regions in the world for the use of capital punishment in stable countries. While the ruling doesn’t abolish the death penalty altogether, the Cabinet made its decision based on the recommendations of a committee of legal scholars and experts who offered a variety of substitute sentences for 11 offenses that carry a mandatory death penalty, including 1 offense under the Dangerous Drugs Act, and another 22 offenses that carry death penalty at the discretion of the court. “This action is very significant to ensure that the amendments to the relevant Acts take into account the principles of ‘proportionality,’” Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in a statement, adding that the decision was in line with the government’s priority to “protect and guarantee the rights of all parties, which reflected transparency in leadership (towards) improving the country’s dynamic criminal justice system.”