Why is attempting suicide a crime in Malaysia?
Sometimes, all it takes is a text or lack thereof to leave us feeling like we never deserved to see the light of day. Shahfirul Hakim was fined RM3000 and would spend 3 months in jail otherwise after he pleaded guilty for attempting to commit suicide. To think that a victim of such a traumatic experience was to be prosecuted with fines and imprisonment appeared cruel and unjust. And so, I have broken down the subject to gain perspective on both the parties involved, the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia (Legislative), and the Ministry of Health (Executive).
The Law
Section 309 of the Penal Code is a controversy in the subject of law that reads, “Whoever attempts to commit suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offense, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.” At first glance, it seemed completely ridiculous and I, like many of my peers questioned why would it be a crime to end their own life? As I read up as to why the law was such, it only opened the doors to the extent of how unequipped the law and even this country is when it comes to dealing with a mental health crisis.
However, the criminalization of attempting suicide does serve one purpose that shines some light as to why such a law still exists. Aiding and Abetting is a legal doctrine that enables Section 306 of the Penal Code which is the Abetment of Suicide. It reads, “If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.”
This means that to charge someone with Section 306, the law requires the act of attempting suicide (Section 309) to be a crime too as for it to amount to Abetting. Due to the technicalities, it would not be possible to charge an individual for abetting a non-crime. Simply put, one would not exist if not for the other, relationship goals am I right? Though other reasons are ranging from it being a deterrent, to be in accordance with religious beliefs, the fact remains that Section 309 is an outdated law that was introduced by the British decades ago.
Other countries such as India and Singapore and even the UK have taken measures to amend the law. The UK implemented The Suicide Act 1961 that abrogates the crime of committing suicide, while Singapore repealed the act in June 2019. The nation needs to uphold the momentum to protest the law and demand for appropriate measures to prevent injustice for victims like Shahfirul Hakim. I have linked an article by Farah Nabihah, a UM student, who does an excellent job at discussing Section 309 of the Penal Code from the eye of a law student and goes in detail to discuss the history of this law.
The MOH
The ministry has yet to have shown any significant efforts to re-evaluate the importance that should be given to mental health. In my opinion, the Ministry of Health should consider funding a separate body that oversees mental health and a response team to handle a mental crisis. I started my search in the Guideline on Suicide Prevention & Management to find the correlation of where the point of intervention guidelines and the point of reality touches.
The guidelines call for a Suicide Acute Response Team (SART) consisting of 6 officers with specific responsibilities to *fingers crossed* calm the crisis. By reading the complexity of each role from the suggested framework, my understanding is that this is not a responsibility that should be added on to the police or the fire and rescue department that already hold an extremely broad scope of responsibility.
They represent the frontline for just about everything, from a cat, stuck on a tree to hunting down murderers. Ringing the police or fire and rescue department to help prevent a suicide from occurring has filled the void of an incomplete system, one that the MOH and the justice system seem to have neglected. The triviality of making it a crime, throwing the responsibility to the police, and brushing it off marks a failed system that causes an estimate of 2000 deaths per year.
The facts above only reflect the lack of importance towards mental health. Growing up, my school only had a counseling service that did the bare minimum and that lack of integration of considering the mental wellbeing of teenagers speaks volumes in every other sector. With an estimate of at least 150 attempts of suicide every day in Malaysia, it is paramount that the systems start evolving to prioritize mental health just as much as we do physical health.
“Oh, send them your heart, so they know that someone cares, and their lives will be stronger and free,” the world sang that we are the world. It only seems fitting that we must come to be the change and help each other to fight for a world that loves without discriminating.
This was particularly triggering to write but I think it is important we educate ourselves with how we can play a part to help. Preventing suicide starts with each one of us being kind and reaching out to the ones we care about. The Manual On Mental Health & Psychosocial Response To Disaster was my first step in educating myself to understand the signs and interpreting them to watch out for my friends and family. A book by Susan David called Emotional Agility was extremely helpful at breaking down my understanding of emotions and being able to identify them on a deeper level. I personally think that change starts with educating ourselves to form a community that focuses on mental health.
Love will remain the cure this world needs. Help is a call away and my DM is always open for anybody who needs a friend.
I lost a fellow junior and scout late last year and I would like to honor him by dedicating this article to him. I’m sorry R, you are always in my thoughts and prayers and bless your beautiful ambitious mind and soul.
