Wacana English Edition: Abolishment stepping stone to greater reforms

SHAH ALAM - The abolishment of the mandatory death penalty is a stepping stone to greater reforms.

Suhakam Commissioner Ragunath Kesavan said that the repeal of the mandatory death penalty was and is being supported by cross-party groups on both sides of the divide.

"It was carried on from the previous government in 2018, carried on by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, and then subsequently by the unity government.

"Again, it is quite a fantastic development that if you asked me 10 years ago that I would be able to see the abolition. This is a positive development for Malaysia with that we have this cross-party support," he said on Sinar Daily's Wacana English Edition, 'Working Towards Abolishing the Mandatory Death Penalty’

On 22 December 2022, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Institutional Reform), Azalina Othman Said, had said that the government will table bills on abolishing the mandatory death penalty in Parliament in February 2023.

The parliament session is currently ongoing till April.

Ragunath went on to say that this is also a good start for a larger reform in terms of presumption and that the entire ministry has stressed the need for tribal law reform, which is critical.

"This reform would be there even if you are a drug addict with 15 grams of drugs. You should not be punished and sent to jail. I think rehabilitation is the way to go

"In fact, you should be set up for rehab. Some form of treatment would be accepted as proof that this is not a crime and that, in fact, it needs treatment, support, and help," he explained.

Ragunath Kesavan was one of the guest speakers for this one-hour programme, along with Deputy Law and Institutional Reforms Minister Ramkarpal Singh and Amnesty International Malaysia Executive Director Katrina Jorene Maliamauv.

The programme was moderated by Meor Addelan