Family of death-row inmate hopeful as Malaysia overturns death penalty

Siti Zabidah's prayers were partly answered on Monday when Malaysia's parliament passed sweeping legal reforms to remove the country's mandatory death penalty.

"My God, it feels like the moon fell upon me. The joy was immense, even though we don't know how much prison time he (my son) has left or when we'll see him again," said a tearful Siti Zabidah, speaking from her apartment in Selangor.

Siti Zabidah said that her son Razali claimed he was forced to carry the drugs by a close friend, who later made him a "scapegoat" for authorities after he was arrested. After the court's sentencing, Siti Zabidah and her family attempted to file an appeal, which was rejected by a judge.

"After the first sentencing, we went to Putrajaya Court, we reviewed the case, yet I didn't know what to say if the judge didn't let us appeal. Some sort like that, no more appeal. And that's where I fell to the floor. I can go on without a husband, but not without my children," she said.

More than 1,300 people facing the death penalty or life imprisonment in Malaysia - including those who have exhausted all other legal appeals - can seek a sentencing review under the new rules passed by the parliament on Monday. The amendments passed to apply to 34 offences currently punishable by death, including murder and drug trafficking. Eleven of those carry it as a mandatory punishment.

For now, life imprisonment sentences, defined by Malaysian law as a fixed term of 30 years, will be retained.

The fate of Siti Zabidah's son now lies in the hands of Malaysia's courts, which will decide on possible alternative sentencing or punishment.

"Even though he's (my son) who he is, he helped me a lot. And he'd always say, 'Mom, you are the best mom.' As long as I'm alive, I'll give him strength," said Siti Zabidah.

Malaysia has had a moratorium on executions since 2018 when it first promised to abolish capital punishment entirely. The government, however, faced political pressure from some parties and rowed back on the pledge a year later, saying it would retain the death penalty but allow courts to replace it with other punishments at their discretion.

Reuters