Minister: Malaysian Govt Open To Hearing Arguments On Abolishing Death Penalty

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government is open to hearing arguments including on abolishing the death penalty, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz said. He said the goverment could only amend a law based on support from the majority of members of parliament or if there was a mass movement against it. He said the government in the last two years had transformed and eliminated a number of laws and acts that were considered incompatible with the current situation. "I think if you look at the last two years, this government has been a reformist government. We have amended a lot of laws and abolished some which were considered to be draconian," he said in his opening address at the University Students Debate to Promote the Abolishment of the Death Penalty in Malaysia, here, Thursday. Nazri, who is personally uncomfortable with capital punishment, said in order for the government to reconsider, there must be a mass movement; strong reaction from the citizens who called for the government to abolish the death penalty. He said activists could work through their members of parliament to raise the issue in parliament. "I need to show the support. I need more MPs to come forward, so I can convince the executive," he said. For the record, Malaysian is among the last 58 countries in the world that still practise capital punishment. -- BERNAMA