The government is studying whether to replace life imprisonment for capital offences with a jail term of between 10 to 30 years.

De facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said he has been asked to set up a task force to look into the matter.

"The cabinet has decided that we consider 10 to 30 years imprisonment instead of life imprisonment for 11 (capital) offences.

"This is a major shift in sentencing policy that will require time for the government to survey and I have been tasked with setting up a task force to look into the proposal," he told journalists in Sandakan today.

Pending the outcome of the study, Liew said any changes to the law would be done together with amendments to abolish the mandatory death penalty.

As such, he said, these amendments will not be brought to the Dewan Rakyat during the current sitting.

"But I am confident that they will be tabled in October after a decision has been made on the suitable (quantum of) punishment," he said.

The government had initially proposed to abolish the death penalty completely but have found a lack of public support.

It is now planning to retain the death penalty but seeks to give judges discretion to decide whether a jail term would be more appropriate.

"We will allow judges to exercise their discretion in deciding whether they should mete out the death sentence or imprisonment," he said.

Last month, Liew said the government was looking to move from a punitive justice system to a restorative one.

"Leaders must consider global trends and perhaps it is time for the punitive nature of the justice system in Malaysia to shift towards a restorative one in the interest of social harmony," he had said.