KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Decades after colonial rule, Malaysia has finally taken the first concrete steps towards abolishing the death penalty, after proposed legislation to make capital punishment optional and not mandatory was put before Parliament a second time.

The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said on March 27.