Law that allows Malaysian king to keep child offenders in jail indefinitely is unconstitutional, activists say

Under the Child Act, minors found guilty of capital offences can serve a life sentence in place of the death penalty at the king’s discretion

As Malaysia reforms its criminal justice system, laws such as this one will be reviewed, says the law minister, as the country eyes a lower incarceration rate

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The King of Malaysia, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:30pm, 14 Sep 2019Updated: 10:28pm, 14 Sep 2019

As Malaysia makes strides towards reforming its criminal justice system, its national human rights body has begun looking into the issue of child offenders detained indeterminately at the pleasure of the king, something which activists and lawyers say is both unconstitutional and violates human rights.

Under the Child Act, minors found guilty of capital offences, such as murder or drug trafficking, can serve a life sentence in place of the death penalty at the king’s discretion. This leaves child offenders living in perpetual uncertainty, critics say.

Often, minors have limited access to recourse beyond appealing through the Pardons Board, which has the power to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment, shorten a jail sentence, delay executions or even issue a full royal pardon at the discretion of the state’s monarch or governor.

A prison security officer in Kajang, Malaysia. Photo: AFP

“This is something the commission is taking an interest in,” said Jerald Joseph, commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). “Several cases have been forwarded to us by human rights groups, and we are approaching the Prisons Department for more information and official data. Have they been there for a long time? Have they had access to all available avenues of legal recourse? These are things we intend to look at.”

Joseph said the ambiguity of these indefinite “life sentences” could constitute a form of torture through what is known as the “death row phenomenon” – leaving minors not knowing when they will be released or how long their sentences will last.