PETALING JAYA: The Befrienders launched a booklet to advocate mental health in an effort to curb the increasing attempted suicide cases among youths in the country.
Targeted at secondary and tertiary-level school students, the 24-page booklet aims to impart some basic knowledge in providing emotional support to those in their social circle, who may show signs of suicidal behaviour.
Befrienders’ patron, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the booklet was vital as the National Health and Morbidity Survey carried out by the Health Ministry in 2017 revealed that 10 per cent of secondary school students had attempted suicide.
He said the booklet will help youngsters understand what they were going through and where to get help.
“Emotional support is paramount, hence we hope by reading the booklet, people who have been suffering internally know there is still hope, and that taking their own life is not the way to go,” he said after launching the booklet today.
Lee urged society, particularly parents, to start having conversations about mental health.
Befrienders president, Justin Victor said an alarming pattern seen by the organisation was occurances of young callers expressing a lack of support from parents in seeking professional help.
“Kids were turned down most of the time when they speak about their feelings. Some parents tend to think their kids are making something out of nothing.
“Parents might be unsure of how to deal with their children’s call for help, and this is where we hope that by reading the booklet, they could recognise symptoms and know where to seek help.”
Both Lee and Justin were strong advocates of the government’s move to study the possibility of decriminalising the act of attempted suicide to tackle such cases nationwide.
Lee urged the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to expedite their study on the merits of decriminalising suicide attempts, which is currently under Section 309 of the Penal Code.
“We do not want people who have mental problems to be regarded as criminals.
“We must not have double jeopardy. They are already suffering, and yet if you were to arrest them and charge them in court, if it is proven true, they will be jailed. I think this imprisonment is totally unnecessary.
“What we should do is give them a helping hand, treat them as people with psychiatric problem. They need treatment, care, attention and not to be treated as criminals,” said Lee.
Justin said those who have the thought of suicide will not openly talk about it because they are afraid that the public will regard such things as something that can lead to a crime, rather than something that should be treated as a mental health issue.
"The removal (of the section) can reduce society stigma on this matter."
Meanwhile, lawyer Nizam Bashir said the proposal to decriminalise attempted suicide would encourage those who have attempted it to seek help.
“In fact, in the case of State versus Sanjay Kumar Bhatia, Delhi High Court's Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar even went so far as to say that ‘the continuance of section 309 Indian Penal Code (equivalent to Section 309 of the Penal Code) is an anachronism unworthy of a human society like ours’.
“The proposed repeal will shift the issue from a 'legal' one to a 'medical' one in that the challenge will be more about ensuring that there is sufficient medical resources for those who have attempted to commit suicide,” he told the New Straits Times when contacted.
Malaysia is one of the remaining few countries that criminalises suicide. Section 309 of the Penal Code states that whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence shall be punished with imprisonment for a term that may extend to one year or with fine, or both.
