Rep shares personal story leading her to push for suicide law reform

 

As an elected representative, Subang Jaya assemblyperson Michelle Ng had expected to perform duties outside of her formal job scope.

However, the call she received one night in 2018, soon after she was first elected, was out of the norm.

It was a call from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department - they needed her help to talk someone out of suicide.

“We’re handling an attempted suicide case now and need help with communication in English or Chinese.

“You’re the only one who we feel the young victim can identify with and who would be calm enough in this situation,” she said the fire and rescue personnel on the line told her.

Despite not being trained in the area, she heeded the call and spent the next three hours speaking to someone in a dark and dangerous place, where fire and rescue personnel assessed the chances of a successful rescue were 50-50.

Subang Jaya assemblyperson Michelle Ng

“We were talking with a wall between us. It was dark. I didn’t know what was going on on the other side.

“Suddenly, I heard a thud. The person’s family members squealed. I thought the worst had happened. My heart sank.

“Sounds of a scuffle followed after the thud. ‘Dia okay! Dia okay!’ I heard the personnel shout. They were able to save the person. Thank God,” she recalled.

But despite the successful rescue, the person was not out of the woods as police were waiting to apprehend them, she said.

This is because suicide is a crime in Malaysia.

Not everyone is so ‘lucky’

She said the police said they were obliged to book the person to ensure it does not happen again.

But Ng said she managed to negotiate the person’s release after the parents made an undertaking to keep a close watch.

“That got me thinking - not everyone who finds themselves in this person’s situation is as lucky.

“And so I began advocating to repeal Section 309 of the Penal Code,” she said.

The section states anyone who attempts suicide can be imprisoned for up to one year or fined, or both.

Yesterday, with Kuching MP Kelvin Yii and Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei, she met with deputy law minister Ramkarpal Singh to lobby for the repeal.

She said since the government announced its intention to decriminalise suicide in 2020, many have been sent to prison.

As such, she said, an immediate moratorium should be in place and Section 309 should be repealed in the next parliamentary sitting.

“Should there be any concern in there being a lacuna (gap) - the government can instruct, administratively, for the police to invoke its powers under Section 10 of the Mental Health Act in cases of attempted suicide to admit the person into a psychiatric hospital.

“Bureaucracy should not cost lives,” she said.

Current law puts more at risk

In a separate joint statement, the three elected representatives said between 2018 and 2021, a total of 902 cases of attempted suicide have been prosecuted in court.

This is not only a waste of court resources but perpetuates stigma and increases the likelihood of suicide, they said.

"The current law is very damaging to someone who is already feeling vulnerable and may exacerbate the problem as it pushes individuals to choose more violent and irreversible means of harming themselves to ensure that their attempt is successful, to avoid prosecution should they survive.

"The criminalisation of suicide does not save lives," they said.

They added the criminalising of suicide also discourages at-risk individuals from seeking help during a crisis and doesn't address factors for suicide attempts.

"This has to stop, and tangible steps must be expedited," they said.

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If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, or know someone who is, please call the following hotlines:

Talian Kasih

Hotline: 15999

The Befrienders

Hotline: 03-76272929

Agape Counselling Centre Malaysia

Hotline: 03-77855955 or 03-77810800

Life Line Association Malaysia

Hotline: 03-42657995

The Health Ministry and Mercy Malaysia have also set up a psycho-social support line for frontline workers and others who are emotionally affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The line can be reached at 014-3223392, 011-63996482, 011-63994236 or 03-29359935, from 8am to 5pm.

For refugees in Malaysia, mental health and psychosocial support services are also available through the UN High Commission for Refugees' partners, listed here. - Mkini