Malaysia loosens drug stance with removal of mandatory death sentence

Drugs offences in Malaysia will no longer be hit with an automatic death sentence, as the country’s government plans to give more power of discretion to the courts system.

The country’s cabinet took the decision after a review of the country’s drug legislation and the recommendation of attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali to loosen the punishments.

Malaysia will still carry the death penalty for other serious offences such as murder and gun crime.

"The cabinet agreed to include additional provisions to empower the court when sentencing other than the mandatory death penalty under certain situations in drug trafficking under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act," government minister Azalina Otham told the Malaysian parliament on Thursday.

Nearly 800 people are currently on death row for offences related to narcotics, but it is not yet clear whether they will still face execution.

Azalina added that the legislation would be pushed through quicker than normal, but was still at an early stage.

Malaysia has one of the strictest narcotics policies in the world, with capital punishment for the sale of any drugs, as well as the risk of jail and deportation for possession.

Other countries in Southern Asia also tend to have no-nonsense drug policies, with automatic death sentences for trafficking handed out in the Phillipines, Singapore and Indonesia among others.