KUALA LUMPUR: The abolition of lifelong prison sentence as an alternative to the mandatory death penalty is a positive development for the country.
Social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the move follows international standards because many countries have adopted to do away with the death penalty.
"Abolishing lifelong imprisonment shows that the government is heading in the right direction in efforts to do away with the death penalty. This is in accordance to international norms.
"I hope the government has invited various stakeholders and civil societies to provide their expert opinion on the matter," he told the New Straits Times.
Lee said the proposal to impose an alternative imprisonment of between 30 to 40 years with at least 12 strokes of the rotan should be sufficient deterrent for offenders.
He hoped members of parliament would be able debate the matter openly on behalf of their constituents.
"It is the best forum for elected representatives to openly give their opinion in Parliament," he said.
On Thursday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said told Dewan Negara that the cabinet has given its nod to several new policies in a bid to abolish the mandatory death penalty.
This included the removal of lifelong imprisonment as an alternative to the mandatory death penalty.
Azalina said the first reading of the Abolishment of the Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 and Review of the Death Penalty and Lifelong Imprisonment (Federal Court Temporary Jurisdiction) 2023 will be carried out on Monday.