Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023
| Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Parliament of Malaysia | |
| |
| Citation | Act 846 |
| Territorial extent | Throughout Malaysia |
| Passed by | Dewan Rakyat |
| Passed | 3 April 2023 |
| Passed by | Dewan Negara |
| Passed | 11 April 2023 |
| Royal assent | 9 June 2023 |
| Effective | 4 July 2023 P.U. (B) 229/2023 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Dewan Rakyat | |
| Bill citation | D.R. 7/2023 |
| Introduced by | Azalina binti Othman Said - Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) |
| First reading | 27 March 2023 |
| Second reading | 3 April 2023 |
| Third reading | 3 April 2023 |
| Second chamber: Dewan Negara | |
| Bill citation | D.R. 7/2023 |
| Member(s) in charge | Ramkarpal Singh a/l Karpal Singh - Deputy Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) |
| First reading | 5 April 2023 |
| Second reading | 11 April 2023 |
| Third reading | 11 April 2023 |
| Amends | |
| Penal Code [Act 574] Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 [Act 37] Arms Act 1960 [Act 206] Kidnapping Act 1961 [Act 365] Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 [Act 234] Strategic Trade Act 2010 [Act 708] Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593] | |
| Related legislation | |
| Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 | |
| Keywords | |
| Capital punishment, Death Penalty, Life imprisonment, Caning | |
| Status: In force | |
Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Malay: Akta Pemansuhan Hukuman Mati Mandatori 2023) is a Malaysian law enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia to abolish the mandatory death penalty and imprisonment for natural life in Malaysia.
However, the death penalty will still remain as a possible and legal punishment under Malaysia's criminal law and this Act does not equal to total abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia.
Before the commencement of this Act on 4 July 2023, there are a total of 11 criminal offences under Malaysian law that carried the mandatory death penalty such as murder, drug trafficking, acts of terrorism, and waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. If one is found guilty under one of such criminal offences, the only punishment available to the judge by law is the death penalty. The judge has no other choice but to sentence the accused to death, unless the accused is a pregnant women as defined by the Criminal Procedure Code, or a child as defined by the Child Act 2001.
With the introduction of this Act, the judges can now act in their own discretion to decide to whether sentence one to:
- Death, or;
- Imprisonment for a term of 30 to 40 years and not less than 12 strokes of whipping.
— on a case-by-case basis.
This Act also abolished all imprisonment for natural life under Malaysian law and replaced it with imprisonment for a term of not less than 30 years but not more than 40 years.
Under Malaysian criminal laws, "imprisonment for natural life" refers to imprisonment until the natural death of the convicts, while "imprisonment for life", unless otherwise stated, refers to a fixed 30 years imprisonment as defined by the Criminal Justice Act 1953. This Act seeks to abolish "imprisonment for natural life", not "imprisonment for life".