Dewan Rakyat passes amendments to decriminalise suicide

PARLIAMENT | Dewan Rakyat has passed amendments to decriminalise suicide by a voice vote.

While tabling for the second reading of bills to amend the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh admitted that the current provisions on criminalising suicide were “not effective”.

He added that efforts to amend the provisions will encourage those affected to come forward and seek help, as well as remove the stigma attached to suicide attempts.

The bill passed includes amendments to Sections 305 and 306 of the Penal Code to include the criminalisation of aiding and abetting attempts of the suicide of children and incapacitated persons.

It also repeals Section 309 of the Penal Code, nullifying attempts to suicide under Act 574.

The proposed penalty for abetting a suicide or attempted suicide is imprisonment for up to 20 years, as well as a fine.

It also repeals Section 309 of the Penal Code, nullifying attempts to suicide under Act 574.

Section 309 punishes attempted suicide with up to one year’s jail, or a fine, or both.

During the debates, several opposition lawmakers raised concerns over whether the amendment had considered religious views as well as the legal framework used in other Muslim countries.

In response, Ramkarpal said the legal frameworks of countries that still criminalise suicide such as Brunei, Qatar and Emirates were studied.

He stressed however that Pakistan, also a Muslim country, had already abolished the criminalisation of suicide.

Ramkarpal added that the Attorney-General Chambers had also engaged with the Federal Territory Mufti Department and Syariah authorities on the decriminalisation.

Responding to Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii’s concern on whether the amendments protect victims of cyberbullying, the deputy minister responded in the affirmative.

Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii

Putrajaya has been talking about decriminalising suicide attempts since the Pakatan Harapan government back in 2019.

In 2021, the Health Ministry’s psychosocial helpline received almost five times more calls than it did the year before.

From January and December 2021, the helpline received 212,319 calls, compared to the same period in 2020, which saw the helpline receiving 44,061 calls.

Ramkarpal said today that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Health Ministry found the prevalence of depression among Malaysians aged 16 and above was 2.3 percent, affecting close to 500,000 people.

He added that studies indicate that individuals with depression are 20 times more likely to have suicidal tendencies and die by suicide. - Mkini