THE government should show compassion to those who contemplate suicide instead of prosecuting them, Lim Kit Siang said today.

The Iskandar Puteri Member of Parliament said it was time for the government to speed up legislative action to decriminalise suicide attempts, which has been put on hold since 2019.

He said the government must act quickly, taking into account the unprecedented high suicide and suicide-attempt rates in the country as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“While there is lot of talk about decriminalising suicide attempts, criminal charges are still be preferred against those attempting suicide, although what they needed most is psychiatric help and not be treated as criminals.

“Until legislative action is taken to decriminalise suicide attempts, I call on the government to demonstrate compassion and empathy, and announce an immediate moratorium and halt all prosecution of pending suicide-attempt cases,” he said in a statement.

The suicide rate in Malaysia has been on the rise as many lack the financial and emotional support needed to face the ongoing health and economic crises.

According to police data, there has been a significant increase in suicides this year, with a majority of them involving women and teenagers.

Figures show that more individuals had committed suicide in the first five months of this year compared to 50% of the total each year since 2019.

The number of cases involving women was five times higher than men for the entire period.

A total of 468 cases were found to have occurred between January and May this year, compared to 609 cases for the whole of 2019 and 631 cases in 2020.

A suicide attempt is a crime in Malaysia punishable by a prison term or fine under Section 309 of the Penal Code.

The government announced that a repeal was being considered in December 2019 but there has been no updates since then. – August 12, 2021.