Decoding over decriminalisation of attempted suicides in Malaysia

The decision on whether to decriminalise suicide attempts in Malaysia is now in the hands of the Cabinet, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Wednesday. He said that his ministry had submitted a memo for a moratorium on the prosecution and convictions involving attempted suicides to the Cabinet.

He said that the Cabinet then decided that a study be conducted by the Attorney General's Chambers AGC on the issue before a decision is taken.

He said that the results of the memorandum will now be discussed in an engagement session with stakeholders, including the Home Affairs Ministry and the police.

Right now, we need the views of the police and the Home Ministry on the memorandum said Mr Khairy to reporters on the sidelines of a fund distribution programme for mental health non-governmental organisations NGOs. When I brought up the memorandum before that, they did not seem to agree much. He said that let s see if they can be influenced to support efforts to decriminalise suicide attempts.

This depends on the Cabinet's decision on whether or not the moratorium will be raised in the next parliamentary session.

The memo is intended to decriminalise suicide attempts and to defer or repeal the sentencing of the offense under Section 309 of the Penal Code until amendments are made to the law.

Under section 309 of the Penal Code, whoever commits suicide can be jailed up to a year, fined, or both.