KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded an increase of 81 per cent or 1,142 suicide cases last year, compared to 631 cases in 2020.
Health Ministry Khairy Jamaluddin said 467 suicide cases were reported in the first six months of this year based on police data.
He said the ministry is committed in educating and training the public regarding mental health issues, prevention of suicidal behaviour and eliminating the stigma surrounding the matter.
"Hopefully, the efforts will bring hope to affected individuals and they will seek help and support; further reducing the death rate due to suicide.
"Contributing factors to suicidal behaviour are diverse and complex, such as psychosocial and environmental issues; financial issues such as loss of income or employment; mental illness such as depression; lack of social support and substance abuse," he said in a statement in conjunction with the 2022 World Suicide Prevention Day, today.
He said this year's theme is "Let's TALK Healthy Mind: Creating Hope Through Action", focusing on the role of society in preventing suicidal behaviour and helping to improve the quality of life of affected individuals.
Khairy also shared data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) which reported that over 703,000 deaths are from suicide, with an average of one death every 40 seconds.
"This means that for every life that is lost, about 135 family members or friends will be affected and experience an emotional, social and economic impact.
"Suicide is one of the 10 leading causes of death in the world and the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 29."
Khairy said immediate action is important at every level to deal with suicidal behaviour, starting from individuals, families, communities, stakeholders such as policy makers, politicians, all government and private agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGO).
"The ministry is also proactive in dealing with suicidal behaviour through the implementation of Decriminalisation of Suicide Attempts to encourage those who are affected to come forward and seek help.
"The ministry has also prepared a moratorium, and it has been presented to the Council of Ministers (cabinet) level in September last year.
"At the moment, the memorandum is under the responsibility of the Attorney General's Department for further action," he said.
Khairy said that other initiatives have also been set up through the Development of the National Suicide and Fatal Death Registry System (NSFIRM) which is expected to be operational next year.
"This system allows detailed and accurate statistics related to suicide incidents to be obtained and targeted prevention efforts can be implemented," he said.
He said the ministry also conducted an engagement session with the police and the Fire and Rescue Department in implementing Suicide Prevention Training for first responders to improve their skills in handling cases of suicidal behaviour.
In the meantime, Khairy informed the ministry is also working with the Education Ministry to empower the Healthy Mind programmes in schools so that it can create a "referral pathway" to refer students suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies to health facilities for early intervention and immediate treatment.
"The ministry is also conducting an advocacy campaign for the Let's TALK Minda Sihat Campaign for target groups and the community across agencies and in an integrated manner, including mass media, social media and stakeholders.
"The ministry also took the initiative to develop a National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health (NCEMH) which is a centre that houses a helpline service to aid those who need it," he said.