Malaysian mother's joy as son gets chance of death row reprieve

GOMBAK: For the past two decades, Malaysian mother Siti Zabidah Muhammad Rasyid has been hoping for a miracle to save her son Razali from death row.

He was sentenced to death 23 years ago after breaching Malaysia's tough laws on drugs when he was caught with 851 grammes (1.9 pounds) of cannabis.

But Siti Zabidah's prayers were answered this week when parliament passed sweeping legal reforms to scrap Malaysia's mandatory death penalty.

"The joy was immense," said a tearful Siti Zabidah, speaking from her apartment in the state of Selangor, near the capital Kuala Lumpur.

She said her son said a friend forced him to carry the drugs and then made him a scapegoat after being arrested.

A judge rejected an earlier attempt by the family to file an appeal against the sentence.

She recounted how she collapsed after hearing the judge's decision, fearing the legal avenues for her son were shut.

"I can go on without a husband but not without my children," she said.

More than 1,300 people facing the death penalty or life imprisonment in Malaysia - including those who have exhausted all legal appeals - can seek a sentencing review under the new rules passed on Monday.

The amendments apply to 34 offences currently punishable by death, including murder and drug trafficking. Eleven of those have stipulated death as the mandatory punishment.

For now, life imprisonment sentences, defined by Malaysian law as a fixed term of 30 years, will be retained.

The fate of Siti Zabidah's son lies in the hands of the courts, which will decide on a possible alternative sentencing or punishment.

Alternatives to the death penalty under the new rules include caning and a jail term of up to 40 years.

Siti Zabidah said she would stand by her son whatever happened.

"As long as I'm alive, I'll give him strength," she said.