KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 16): Offenders convicted of murder will still face equitable jail time if the death penalty is abolished, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"To reassure families of murder victims, the abolishment of the death penalty will not [result in] the release of those found guilty, as they will still face equitable jail time.

"The proposal is in line with Promise 27 of the Pakatan Harapan's election manifesto... which promised to abolish cruel laws, including mandatory hanging across all acts [within the constitution]," he added.

Dr Mahathir, who is member of parliament (MP) for Langkawi, was replying to a parliamentary question by MP for Ayer Hitam Wee Ka Siong on how the government can justify the proposed abolishment to families of murder victims.

The premier said the proposed abolishment is also one of the proposals of a study on the punishment, which was conducted by I-CeLLS, an organisation under the purview of the Attorney General's Office.

The study took into account law analyses, public perception towards the punishment, and its practice in Malaysia and elsewhere.

"Professor Roger Hood of the University of Oxford, which was one of the renowned experts in thr world on death penalty, has been appointed as a consultant for the study," Dr Mahathir said.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir said the death penalty will remain in effect until it is abolished, and that the latter can only be done if Parliament can approve an act to replace the form of punishment.

Separately, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong said yesterday that the abolishment cannot be done "half-heartedly" and must be consistent across all acts.

According to Liew, there are around 1,267 prisoners on death row to-date, with around 900 charged for drug-related offences (Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952).

"On drug-related offences, we have not had any execution, because the heads of states have not signed the execution orders. So, they have been in prison for a long time," Liew said.