MARCH 16 — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) refers to the execution of Rames Batumalai and his brother, Suthar Batumalai on March 15, 2017. Suhakam reiterates that the mandatory imposition of the death penalty violates the basic right to life, as enshrined in international human rights law as it constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life, as well as denies judges the possibility of taking into account the facts of the offence or the characteristics of each individual offender for purposes of sentencing.
Suhakam is of the opinion that the mandatory death penalty must be abolished so that judges will be given their discretionary power to decide on a sentence for a convicted person.
Suhakam also calls on the Government to review the relevance and effectiveness of capital punishment and recommends that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty be put into effect.
Tan Sri Razali Ismail
Chairman
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam)
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