Malaysia plans to abolish the death penalty.

Malaysia’s government announced Friday that it has agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty, with campaigners applauding the decision but warning that the country had failed to deliver on previous promises to improve human rights.

The death penalty remains mandatory in the Southeast Asian country for several offences, including murder and drug trafficking, despite a moratorium on executions in place since 2018.

That year, a reformist alliance came to power and announced its intention to abolish the death penalty entirely, but the plan was thwarted by political rivals and the families of murder victims.

Since then, a watered-down proposal to abolish the death penalty only in cases where it is mandatory has been floated.

Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced on Friday that the Cabinet had agreed to abolish the death penalty.

He stated that more research would be conducted to determine what sentences could be substituted for the death penalty.

“The decision on this matter demonstrates the government’s priority to protect and guarantee the rights of all parties,” he said in a statement.

Aside from crimes for which the death penalty is mandatory, there are several others for which the death penalty can be imposed at the discretion of the judge.

To effect the changes, the legislation must be enacted in parliament, and Wan Junaidi told AFP it would “take a little while,” without providing a timeframe.

The procedure is “not as simple as people might think.”