Cabinet to get memo on freezing charges for suicide bids

PARLIAMENT | Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said his ministry has prepared a cabinet memorandum to impose a moratorium on charging someone with attempted suicide, amid the ministry’s efforts to decriminalise suicide.

“This memorandum requests for the cabinet to approve a moratorium immediately where there will not be any charges under Section 309 of the Penal Code for attempted suicide until the repeal or amendment of Section 309 can be done in Parliament,” he said.

He said this during his winding-up speech for Budget 2022 at the Dewan Rakyat today.

This matter was welcomed by Kelvin Yii (Harapan-Bandar Kuching), but he questioned whether there is a timeline planned to ensure this matter is implemented as soon as possible.

Khairy said the memorandum will be presented to the cabinet “as soon as possible” for approval, once it has been fine-tuned by the Health Ministry, with input from legal advisers.

“Following that, it will be sent for review by the other ministries,” he said.

On Oct 7, Deputy Health Minister Aaron Ago Dagang had reportedly said the Home Ministry and the Attorney-General’s Chambers have agreed to decriminalise suicide.

Subsequently, the Malaysian Bar Council had urged the government to put a moratorium in place on filing charges against people who attempt suicide.

It had also urged Putrajaya to withdraw all pending charges against people who have been charged under Section 309 of the Penal Code.

Section 309 of the Penal Code states that those who are unsuccessful in their suicide attempt can be jailed up to a year or fined or both, if convicted.