PRESS RELEASE
18 MAY 2026
Malaysia significantly reduced its use of the death penalty in 2025, but authorities must now commit to full abolition and set a clear timeline to end this punishment once and for all, Amnesty International Malaysia said today, marking the launch of its global report Death Sentences and Executions 2025.
The yearly number of new death sentences continued to fall in 2025 following the landmark abolition of the mandatory death penalty in 2023, which marked a turning point in Malaysia’s criminal justice system. Yet the death penalty remains entrenched in Malaysia’s laws, leaving hard‑won progress at risk of reversal.
“Malaysia has shown that change is possible. Fewer people have been sentenced to death, and that matters. But without full abolition, Malaysia still stands with the minority of countries still holding on to an unjust and irreversible punishment,” said Amnesty International Malaysia spokesperson, Divya Shesshsan Balakrishnan.
Courts drive decline in death sentences to historic lows
According to official figures provided to Amnesty International, in 2025, courts in Malaysia imposed 15 new death sentences, a one‑third drop from 24 in 2024 and significantly lower than 38 recorded in 2023.
It is also noteworthy that no new death sentences were imposed in Sabah and Sarawak last year.
At the same time, appellate courts continued to scale back the use of the death penalty. The Court of Appeal alone commuted 42 death sentences, including 24 involving drug offences, and acquitted four people. However, three death sentences were upheld for men convicted of murder, including two foreign nationals.
Figures reported to Parliament indicated that, as of November 2025, 97 people remained on death row in Malaysia, a historic low for the nation.
Despite this progress, the death penalty continues to be imposed for drug‑related offences, in gross violation of international human rights law and standards.
In 2025, almost half of all death sentences imposed were drug-related (7 out of 15).
“These figures show that Malaysia is already moving away from the death penalty. But as long as courts continue to impose death sentences, including for drug-related offences, the law remains out of step with this progress and with international standards,” said Divya Shesshsan Balakrishnan.
Global surge in executions and changing tides in ASEAN
Globally, executions surged to 2,707 in 2025, the highest figure recorded by Amnesty International in over four decades, since 1981. Yet only 17 countries carried out executions, underscoring the growing isolation of those that still resort to implementing this punishment. More than two‑thirds of countries worldwide are now abolitionists in law or practice.
In Southeast Asia, executions are now concentrated in just two countries, Singapore and Viet Nam.
Singapore sharply increased executions in 2025, nearly doubling its total, from 9 in 2024 to 17 last year, including 15 for drug related offences. Five Malaysians were among those executed, including Malaysian song and poetry writer, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman.
Elsewhere in the region, Viet Nam reduced the scope of the death penalty—abolishing it for eight offences, including drug transportation, and expanding pathways for commutation—reflecting a broader regional shift away from the death penalty.
“The surge in executions globally and the continued use of the death penalty in our region, including in Singapore underscores the urgent need for Malaysian authorities to reject this punishment and lead on abolition in ASEAN—including for the Malaysians who continue to face the gallows just next door to us, ” said Divya Shesshsan Balakrishnan.
A Clear Path Toward Full Abolition
In 2025, the Malaysian government announced plans to carry out a comprehensive study on the policy and direction of the death penalty in Malaysia, including the total abolition of the death penalty. Amnesty International Malaysia welcomed the announcement but regrets that there has been no update on the status of the study, which suggests progress is stalling.
Since 2018, Malaysia has taken significant steps to reduce its use of the death penalty, including introducing a moratorium on executions, abolishing mandatory death sentencing and reviewing thousands of cases. As a result, the number of people under the sentence of death has fallen from more than 1,200 to under 100.
But despite these gains, the fact remains: people are still being sentenced to death.
“Malaysia has laid the groundwork for abolition, but momentum is clearly faltering. Without a clear and time‑bound roadmap, these gains risk being reversed. What is needed now is concrete action to chart the way forward towards full abolition. There should be no hesitation. The time to consign this cruel punishment to the history books is now,” said Divya Shesshsan Balakrishnan.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases and under any circumstances, and call on the Malaysian government to:
- Commit to full abolition of the death penalty in law and maintain the existing moratorium on executions indefinitely;
- Establish a clear, time‑bound roadmap towards abolition;
- Remove the death penalty for all offences, including drug‑related crimes;
- Commute all existing death sentences.
Amnesty International’s global report shows that while executions surged in 2025, the number of countries carrying them out remains a small minority, and the global trend continues to move towards abolition.
“Malaysia has already taken meaningful steps in that direction. Now is the time to take the final step and help lead the region towards a future without the death penalty,” said Divya Shesshsan Balakrishnan.
For more information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, kindly contact AIM’s Communications Officer, Divya Shesshsan Balakrishnan at [email protected]