Go inside the work of Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Law, where criminologists and legal scholars are helping reshape Malaysia’s criminal justice system.
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00:00Malaysia's criminal justice system is entering a new chapter, one not guided only by policy makers,
00:07but by the academics that are shaping the way laws are understood and reformed.
00:14At the forefront of this movement is University Melayah's Faculty of Law.
00:18I am a criminologist and also a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University Melayah.
00:27I was a lawyer for about 21 years before I transitioned fully into academia.
00:37Hazrina Bergum Abdul Hamid's career bridges two worlds, courtroom advocacy and field research.
00:44So my research is basically on crime, widely on crime, in particular trafficking, human trafficking,
00:55where I've conducted fieldwork research, interviews with trafficking victims, on prison research, on prison as a whole,
01:06and also on counter-terrorism, where I interview former combatants, former detainees and those foreign fighters who have returned from Syria or Afghanistan.
01:23Her years in the field earn her a seat at the highest levels.
01:28As a special branch consultant and Malaysia's first expert, recognised by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
01:36Today, she leads UM Law's contribution to a sweeping review of Malaysia's Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act,
01:45laws that trace back to the colonial era.
01:49As both head researcher and a member of the Prime Minister's Criminal Law Reform Committee,
01:55the UM team is helping evaluate everything from sentencing and bail to evidence and victim protection.
02:02Among the most urgent changes, concern proposals to abolish mandatory whipping to reform remand procedures and to provide for digital plea options for minor offences.
02:16Within UM Law, the reform effort is about teamwork.
02:21Nine researchers and four assistants work tirelessly to study the laws from different countries, extrapolate data from interview records,
02:31and, importantly, prepare recommendations for the country's policy makers.
02:37We have a very good, friendly, strong camaraderie among us.
02:43Some of the things that we discuss about are kind of gruesome, especially, you know, when you're talking about inflicting of punishment, you know, whipping.
02:51But there's always a sense of calm, and we try to make it as fun as possible.
02:57I think that's the great part about my team.
03:00The project also brings in voices from other fields.
03:04Firdaus Abdulaziz, a medical law expert, is interrogating the role of doctors in punishment,
03:10especially when these medical practitioners are asked to certify offenders for whipping.
03:15From the medical ethics point of view, medical doctors are supposed to, they have ethical duties, right?
03:22They have to prioritise, I will mention maybe, the principles of non-maleficence and beneficence, you know?
03:30What does it mean?
03:31Maleficence means that doctors should do no harm, and beneficence doctors should do their best, you know,
03:38to promote what is the best interest of individuals who are under their care.
03:42To that end, he draws on his extensive experience working on global medical ethics standards
03:49at the Southeast Asian Bioethics Network, housed at UM Law.
03:55Global standards, such as those from the World Medical Association,
03:59UN Principles of Medical Ethics, and Islamic Bioethics Codes,
04:04all oppose doctor involvement integrating treatment.
04:07For UM Law, reform must also protect professional integrity.
04:14I hope to see a clear separation between medicine and punishment.
04:19If we can do away with the legal requirement for doctors' involvement,
04:24then that will further strengthen or safeguard public's trust towards the profession of medical doctors.
04:33At UM Law, reform is driven by the people, research, and ideas
04:39that are quietly but powerfully reshaping what justice looks like in Malaysia.
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