Malaysia's government, in a statement released on June 10, has said it will abolish the 'mandatory' death penalty - the required execution of individuals convicted of certain crimes. Once the government's decision comes into effect, lesser punishments can be given for these crimes. Capital punishment in Malaysia is given mostly to drug offenders. As of February 2022, of the more than 1,000 people on death row, 905 have been convicted of charges related to drug trafficking, according to government data. Once the death penalty ceases to be mandatory, Malaysia will join a large number of "abolishment" countries that have stopped the punishment either in law or in practice over the last few decades. India is among the countries that persist with the death penalty as the maximum punishment, but it is not mandatory for any crime. What is the mandatory death penalty? In some countries (like Malaysia until now), the death sentence is imposed as the mandatory or only punishment for certain crimes. A judge does not have the discretion to give a lesser punishment, or to consider aspects such as the circumstances in which the crime was committed or of the defendant before handing out the sentence. In Malaysia, terrorist acts, murder, and rape resulting in death carry the mandatory death penalty. The Malaysian government had made a similar announcement on ending the mandatory death penalty in 2018, but had failed to follow through, Reuters reported. The recommendation last week came from a government committee reviewing alternative punishments. But no details have been provided on when the recommendation would translate into law. Which countries have the mandatory death penalty? Barring a few exceptions and certain specific offences, most countries allow capital punishment to be reduced to a life sentence or alternative sentences. Some Islamic nations have the punishment for blasphemy, the offence of contempt against God or other sacred objects or people in a faith. In Pakistan, a court order in 1991 made blasphemy mandatorily punishable with death, which made the country's blasphemy laws stricter than in Saudi Arabia and Iran, which execute more people than Pakistan, but where judges have wider powers in awarding other punishments. Drug offences, as in the case of Malaysia, also carry mandatory death penalty in a few other countries, especially in Southeast Asia. Singapore prescribes it for manufacturing, importing and exporting specific drugs. In 2022, UN human rights experts said capital punishment for drug-related crimes ran contrary to international law. "States that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the ‘most serious crimes'. Under international law, only crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing can be considered as ‘most serious'. Drug offences clearly do not meet this threshold," they said. Studies have shown that public support for retaining the penalty is significant in Singapore, with people believing that it helps make the country safe. According to the government of Singapore, the death penalty is applicable only to a "very limited number of offences, involving the most serious forms of harm to victims and to society, such as intentional murder and trafficking of significant quantities of drugs". Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox
