MALAYSIA: OVER 1,000 INMATES ON DEATH ROW

May 17, 2016: More than 1,000 inmates are on death row with no decision yet on whether the Government will abolish the punishment, said Nancy Shukri. 
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said a decision has yet to made on the Government's policy on the death sentence. 
"As of May 16, statistics from the Prisons Department show that there are 1,041 inmates on death row for mandatory death sentences for offences such as murder, drug trafficking, firearms and kidnap. 
"However, the sentences have not been carried out as the cases are still pending appeals with the courts and respective state’s pardons board," she said in a written reply to a question by Ramkarpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) in Dewan Rakyat. 
Ramkarpal wanted to know if the moratorium on the mandatory death sentence was made following proposals to abolish the punishment. 
Nancy added a decision has yet to be made as an indepth study was being carried out over the matter. 
"The Government is working with the Attorney-General, who is carrying out a detailed study on the law, policy and effectiveness of the mandatory death sentence," she said. 
Nancy said the scope of the study also covered other laws that allow for the punishment.
She said an announcement would be made once the findings of the study are completed. (Sources: thestar.com.my, 17/05/2017)