KUCHING: The country’s mandatory death law needs to be studied further.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in the meanwhile the application of the law in court is suspended until the law has been amended.
He said it involved cases that had already been decided by the court, cases that were being tried in court and that that are still under investigation.
“These cases are still covered by the old law unless it has been amended.
“My ministry will introduce the amendments and we will speed up the study with the hope that we get the support of all parties. We want the whole nation to accept the fact that the government wants to make a decision on the matter,” he said after officiating at the opening of Bintawa Maternal and Child Health Clinic, Kampung Bintawa Hilir, here today.
Wan Junaidi said the mandatory death sentence was imposed by judges at their discretion and wisdom as provided for by the law.
A standardised sentencing policy will take over the duties and discretion of the judge in hearing a case.
“This also contradicts the concept of a judge’s freedom to impose a sentence based on what he facts presented in a trial,” he said.
He added that the mandatory death prevented judges from using their discretion in sentencing.
He suggested that a tribunal should be set up to review the mandatory death sentences that have been handed down previously.
“As for the constitution, it needs to be scrutinised by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and my ministry,” he said.
Early on, Wan Junaidi said the government had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty and substitute it subject to the court’s discretion.
The decision was reached following the presentation of the Replacement Sentence Study Report on Mandatory Death Penalty by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar at a Cabinet meeting on June 8.
The government also in principle accepted and took note of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Substitute Sentences on Mandatory Death Penalty explained in the study report.
