Breaking News English

The Malaysian government has [started / stated] it intends to abolish the death penalty in a move that has been [welcoming / welcomed] by human rights campaigners. Malaysia's Law Minister said: "The death penalty will be [abolished / abolition] . Full stop." He added: "Since we are abolishing the sentence, all executions should not be carried [in / out] ." There are currently over 1,267 people on death row in Malaysia who are [let / set] to win a reprieve. The law minister said prisoners on death row would be [released / releasing] or have their sentences [computed / commuted] . He said: "When commuted, they would have to [face / head] life imprisonment because there had been [several / severe] deaths that were caused by the offender and so they were sentenced [by / to] death."

Malaysia's decision was [hailed / halted] by Amnesty International. Its Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said: "Malaysia must now [joint / join] the 106 countries who have turned their [fronts / backs] for good on the ultimate [cruelty / cruel] , inhumane, degrading punishment. The world is [watching / seeing] ." Mr Naidoo added: "There is no time to waste. The death penalty should have been [consigned / constrained] to the history books long ago. Malaysia's new government has promised to deliver [in / on] human rights, and today's announcement is an [encourage / encouraging] sign, but much more needs to be done." There are still 23 countries that [retrain / retain] the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, there were 993 executions [recorded / accorded] worldwide in 2017.