Concerns over suicide have risen amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the government has again been urged to expedite efforts to decriminalise suicide attempts.
The latest call was made by the National Coalition on Mental Wellbeing (NCMW), an initiative by Rotary Malaysia.
Meanwhile, NGO Befrienders said it received 21,000 calls for help in the first half of 2021, of which at least 30 percent were related to suicide.
In an online press conference today, NCMW decriminalisation focus group head Dr B Venugopal called for Section 309 of the Penal Code to be urgently repealed.
This section stipulates that a person caught for attempting suicide shall be punished with a maximum one year jail sentence, a fine or both.
“If an individual attempts to take his or her own life, it should not be a crime. It is a desperate cry for help. It is not a criminal issue, it is a medical issue [...]
“Unfortunately, our current laws treat suicide attempts as a crime. They add insult to injury, delaying or occasionally denying the psychological support and psychiatric treatment that these poor individuals so very much deserve.
“The aim of this focus group is to convince the government that the time is now right to repeal Section 309 of the Penal Code. This pandemic has been especially harsh on a lot of people [...],” said the cardiologist.
Lawyer and focus group member M Ramachelvam noted that Malaysia is one of 25 countries in the world that criminalises suicide attempts.
It is also one of the three Asean countries with such laws.
While Putrajaya takes steps to repeal this law, Ramachelvam proposed that the government withdraw all pending charges under Section 309 and enforce a moratorium on charging those who attempt suicide.
“We also propose that Sections 10 and 11 of the Mental Health Act 2001 be operationalised so that persons who attempt suicide undergo psychiatric evaluation and psychiatric care,” he added.
In Dec 2019, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) was reportedly studying suitable “mechanisms” to decriminalise suicide.
One year later in Dec 2020, the AGC said the study was still underway.
Don’t threaten with law
During the press conference, Befrienders Kuala Lumpur chairperson Justin Gerard Victor pointed to recent cases where those who attempted suicide were charged and penalised.
In Feb 2020, a Terengganu court sentenced a disabled man to six months in prison for trying to kill himself.
In Aug last year, a Kuala Lumpur court fined an unemployed man RM3,000 for attempting suicide.
“People are attempting suicide because of all kinds of different issues and problems.
“But if they were to be caught or actually seek help after the attempt, there is the threat of them being charged,” he remarked.
For every reported suicide, Justin was concerned that as many as 20 others had made an attempt.
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah previously revealed that 336 suicides were reported between Jan and Mar this year, accounting for more than half of the total 631 reported cases last year.
Rising calls for help
Justin later told Malaysiakini that his NGO, which offers free emotional support to struggling individuals, had received 21,000 phone calls and emails between Jan and Jun 2021.
He estimated that about “30 to 40 percent” of those enquiries included suicidal thoughts and intentions.
This comes up to at least 6,300 of calls this year.
In 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Befrienders received 40,506 enquiries.
It received 36,154 enquiries for the whole of 2019 and 30,075 enquiries in 2018.
If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, or know someone who is, please call the following hotlines:
Agape Counselling Centre Malaysia
Hotline: 03-77855955 or 03-77810800
The Befrienders
Hotline: 03-79568144 or 03-79568145
Life Line Association Malaysia
Hotline: 03-42657995
-Mkini
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