THE Malaysian Ministry of Health notes that suicide is among the top 10 causes of death in the world, and the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 29 years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there are more than 703,000 cases of suicide deaths each year worldwide, with an average of one suicide incident every 40 seconds. In 2019, one (1) in 100 deaths (1.3%) was due to suicide.
For every life lost, it is estimated that a total of 135 family members or friends will be impacted emotionally, socially and economically.
Besides, the Covid-19 pandemic situation around the world has a huge impact on mental health and Malaysia is no exception.
Social factors that cause excessive stress such as losing a job or source of income, isolation from family support networks and friends, can also affect some individuals who are at high risk for mental health problems including depression.
If the depression fails to be identified and treated properly, there is a risk for suicidal behaviour.
Suicidal behaviours include suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, suicide attempt and death as a result of suicide. Sources from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) found that there was an increase in deaths due to suicide cases reported in Malaysia last year which was 631 cases compared to 609 cases in 2019.
As of July, a total of 638 suicide cases were reported by PDRM compared to 262 cases for the same period last year (January-July 2020) which is an increase of 143% or 1.4 times more.
This year’s theme is ‘Act Fast, Build Hope’, aimed at boosting public confidence to play an important role in preventing suicide incidents and eliminating the stigma associated with suicidal behaviour.
In line with the ‘Malaysian Family Concept’, the role of the community collectively is to identify the early symptoms of depression and suicidal behaviour among loved ones, especially during the pandemic.
The Ministry of Health would like to inform that several initiatives to address the issue of suicidal behaviour have been implemented. Among them are:
1. Strengthening the implementation of mental health and psychosocial support services through:
- Strengthening the Psychosocial Support Helpline established by the MOH in collaboration with NGOs to increase access to mental health service coverage and psychosocial support to assist individuals in need of support during the Covid-19 pandemic; and
- Increase in counselling psychology officers at the district level and health clinics to strengthen mental health services, violence and injury prevention, as well as substance abuse.
2. Support for the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide where efforts for the amendment/repeal of Section 309 under the Penal Code convicts attempted suicide as a criminal offence. The implementation of the decriminalisation of attempted suicide will be a shift in suicide prevention efforts in Malaysia. This will encourage those affected to come forward and seek help as early as possible;
3. Advocacy of the Let’s TALK Healthy Minds Campaign to target groups and the community as a whole across agencies and in an integrated manner including involving the mass media, social media and stakeholders;
4. Ongoing training of ‘first-line responders’ such as health personnel, police officers, and firefighters to improve suicidal behaviour management skills; and
5. Intensify engagement sessions with various Ministries and government and non-government agencies to ensure that no group is left behind in whole-of-government and whole-of-society efforts to address the issue of suicidal behaviour
Society can also play a role in preventing suicidal behaviour in the following ways:
- Take note of and reach out to family members and acquaintances, especially those affected by the pandemic;
- Give them support and encouragement to seek help and treatment;
- Avoid sharing any news, videos or photos related to suicide on social media;
- Remove negative stigma against families as well as individuals with mental illness and do not pass judgment on suicide incidents; and
- Maintain relationships and provide social support especially after a crisis.
MOH will continue to be committed to establishing cooperation and welcome various other agencies to jointly take part in the implementation of suicide prevention.
These efforts are expected to increase public awareness of the importance of suicide prevention, end the stigma against suicidal behaviour and in turn reduce the death rate due to suicide. – The Vibes, September 10, 2021
*Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah is director-general of Health Malaysia
