Malaysia remains as one of the 56 countries yet to abolish the death penalty in law or practice. Malaysian law currently prescribes 33 offences punishable by death, including under the Penal Code, the Strategic Trade Act 2010 and the Water Services Industry Act 2006.

The Commission have been advocating for the total abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia since 2006. In line with its mandate, the Commission have conducted various stakeholder engagements and advocacy programmes, including conferences, debates and exhibitions, to raise public awareness on this issue.   

The Commission welcomed the moratorium on the death penalty in 2018 and supported the Government’s decision to abolish the mandatory death penalty in 2019 as a positive step towards total abolition. In this regard, the Commission has been advocating that:

  • the death penalty should be replaced with life imprisonment of 30 years in respect of the most serious crimes
  • The death penalty should never be replaced with natural life imprisonment
  • The standard of treatment for prisoners and prison conditions should be consistently improved to prevent cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment
  • Death row prisoners should be resentenced with a view for commutation to a pro-rated prison sentence or for conditional release
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