PETALING JAYA: The lockdown is pushing many to the brink, even driving them to commit suicide and the government must do all it can to help the people, including those in the middle 40 (M40) group, says an MP.
Jelebu MP Jalaluddin Alias, in voicing his concern over a spate of suicides in the past 10 days, said all forms of financial assistance must be given immediately to the affected group, while the implementation of assistance that has been announced must also be expedited.
“i-Sinar 2.0 and automatic moratorium 2.0 must be implemented immediately,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Jalaluddin urged the government to provide aid to all, regardless of income group.
“Stop focusing only on the B40 group as the M40 group has also been severely impacted (by the pandemic). On top of that, many of the T20 group have become M40.”
Citing the recent spate of suicide incidents that occurred in June alone, he said it was a cause for concern.
Starting from June 15 until yesterday, a total of five suicide cases had been reported across the country.
“These five incidents happened in less than 10 days. This is shocking news.”
While the impact of the lockdown varied for everyone, he stressed that the increase in suicide cases during the pandemic was not an isolated issue.
“The implementation of MCO (movement control order) since March 2020 has worsened the situation. Maybe for some of us, MCO does not affect us greatly but, for others, the MCO is torture.”
He said “a-whole-of-society approach” was required to address the issue, urging everyone to play their part.
Communities must be aware of their surroundings. “Reach out to neighbours who are struggling during the pandemic. If you are not able to assist, contact the relevant parties that are able to do so.” - FMT
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