Momentum building towards decriminalising attempted suicide

KUALA LUMPUR: The move to decriminalise suicide by amending the law is gaining momentum, says Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.

The Deputy Health Minister informed MPs in Parliament that the Home Ministry and Attorney General's Chambers have agreed to the amendments to Section 309 of the Penal Code for this purpose.

"The proposed amendments are at the stage where they will be brought to the Cabinet first, before they are tabled in Parliament," he said when answering a question by Che Alias Hamid (PN-Kemaman) in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 7).

There have been calls from various quarters and civil society for the government to decriminalise attempted suicide.

Under Section 309, a person is liable to a one-year imprisonment, fine, or both, if found guilty of attempted suicide.

M. Kulasegaran (PH-Ipoh Barat) welcomed the announcement by the deputy minister.

"Please table it in Parliament as soon as possible so that we can support it," said Kulasegaran, who claimed that there were 1,708 suicides between January and May this year.

"What is worrying is that of these cases, 872 or 51% involved youths," he added.

He wanted to know what was being done to help those suffering mental health issues due to Covid-19 and long periods under the movement control order.

Aaron Ago informed the House that the National Mental Health Strategic Plan will be launched on Sunday (Oct 10) in conjunction with World Mental Health Day.