Our consultant, Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai, was recently interviewed by Aljazeera for its 101 East show in an episode titled “Malaysia: On Death Row”. The episode which aired on 4 July 2019 covers contrasting views from Malaysians for and against the mandatory death sentence, with emotional sharing from families of murdered victims to the families of convicts waiting on death row.
Dato’ Mah shares his views for the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia. He explains that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent and highlights that the crime rate in Malaysia has continued to increase despite the imposition of the mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking offences. Dato’ Mah also responds to the contention that judges should not be given the discretion to impose the death penalty and expressed that “Judges must still be the conscience of the people.” Dato’ Mah believes the underlying problem is the lack of confidence in law enforcement and attributed it to corruption which has been pervasive in Malaysia. Watch the full Aljazeera 101 East episode “Malaysia: On Death Row” https://youtu.be/tuLrVOQozW4
(Dato’ Mah appears at minute 19.30 and 22.38)
