Malaysia
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- CONSTITUTION
- August 31, 1957, amended several times, last in 2007
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English common law; legislative acts reviewed by the Supreme Court; Islamic law applies to Muslims in family and religious matters
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Senate (Dewan Negara) and House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- civil courts include: Federal Court, Court of Appeal, and High Courts; Sharia courts include Sharia Court of Appeal, High Sharia Court, and subordinate Sharia tribunals. Sharia court decisions cannot be appealed in civil courts
RELIGIONS
60% Muslims, 19% Buddhists, 9% Christians, 6% Hindus, other
From the country
JULY 31, 2026MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: EX-MILITARY DOCTOR FAILS IN BID TO REVIEW CONVICTION FOR KEVIN MORAIS’S MURDER
APRIL 14, 2026MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: DEATH PENALTY NOT NEEDED FOR DRINK DRIVING CASES, SAYS TRANSPORT MINISTER
Malaysia’s Transport minister Loke Siew Fook on April 13, 2026 shut the door on the possibility of introducing the death penalty under the Road Transport Act for cases linked to driving under the influence, despite calls from certain quarters to do so.
- APRIL 8, 2026IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIAN GRANDMOTHER FREED FROM MALAYSIA’S DEATH ROW AFTER 15 YEARS RETURNS HOME
An Indonesian grandmother who spent about 15 years on death row in Malaysia for drug trafficking on April 2, 2026 returned home after receiving clemency
- FEBRUARY 28, 2026MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING EX-GIRLFRIEND' S THREE-YEAR OLD SON
The Klang High Court on February 27, 2026 sentenced S. Davandrakumar, 33, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s three-year-old son in 2021.
- FEBRUARY 3, 2026FranceDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIAN COURT ACQUITS FRENCH MAN FACING POSSIBLE DEATH PENALTY ON DRUG CHARGES
A French national facing a possible death penalty in Malaysia on eight drug-related charges was acquitted on February 3, 2026, freeing him after nearly two and a half years in detention.
JANUARY 13, 2026MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: NIGERIAN MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF STEP-GRANDSON
The Kuala Lumpur High Court in the Malaysian capital on January 8, 2026 sentenced a Nigerian national to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murdering his step-grandson by throwing the four-year-old child from the third floor of an apartment in t
- NOVEMBER 20, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: APEX COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY ON S’WAK MAN FOR KILLING BABY
The Federal Court on November 19, 2025 upheld the conviction and death sentence on a father found guilty of murdering his two-month-old disabled baby boy by smashing the child’s body.
- NOVEMBER 18, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: GOVT FORMS SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO CONDUCT STUDY ON ABOLISHING DEATH PENALTY
The government is setting up a special task force to study the status and direction of the death penalty in Malaysia
OCTOBER 19, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING, BURNING PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND
Klang High Court on October 15, 2025 sentenced a man to death by hanging after he pleaded guilty to a charge of murdering and burning his pregnant girlfriend in Sabak Bernam, two years ago.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: APEX COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY ON SRI AMAN PHARMACIST CONVICTED OF 2018 MURDER OF CHINESE NATIONAL WIFE
Kuching Federal Court on September 23, 2025 upheld the death sentence imposed on a Sri Aman pharmacist convicted of murdering his wife in 2018.
JULY 8, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: SENIOR CITIZEN ACQUITTED OF MURDER, ESCAPES DEATH SENTENCE
A senior citizen was acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal on July 7, 2025, setting aside his conviction and death sentence for the murder of his disabled stepsister-in-law six years ago.
- JULY 3, 2025MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR EX-MILITARY DOCTOR IN KEVIN MORAIS MURDER CASE
The Federal Court has upheld the death sentence imposed on former military doctor R Kunaseegaran over the murder of deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais 10 years ago, FMT reported on July 1st, 2025.