“Malaysia must become the Tiger of Asia”, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the United Nations General Assembly in late 2018. A “Tiger” who, last year, in just a few months, made an impression with his determination to abolish the death penalty step by step in a region surrounded by fervently retentionist countries.
Take a look behind the scenes of this exceptional year for Malaysia, which has been encouraged to continue on its path to abolition by ECPM and its partners, ADPAN (Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network) and PGA (Parliamentarians for Global Action).
First by abolishing the mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers (law that came into force in March 2018), then by declaring an immediate stop of all executions (October 2018), Malaysia then affirmed its leadership position in South East Asia by voting in favour of the resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty at the UN General Assembly (December 2018).
< Read the article : Malaysia is leading the way to abolition in Southeast Asia! >
But the Malaysian momentum must not stop there: in a month, the Minister of Law in the Department of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, will attend the 7th World Congress against the Death Penalty organised by ECPM in Brussels (Belgium), from 26 February to 1 March 2019. In the face of decision-makers around the world, he will symbolise the determination needed for universal abolition.
In the following month, a bill for abolition will be discussed in the parliamentary session.