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He told the Dewan Rakyat the ministry and the AGC have agreed to abolish Section 309 of the Penal Code, with the matter set to be brought before the Cabinet.
“The next stage is to bring it to the Cabinet and make amendments to the section so that those who attempt suicide will no longer be charged,” he said in response to a question from Che Alias Hamid (PAS-Kemaman).
Dagang said the abolition of Section 309 had been discussed for a long time by the government.
In terms of the government’s long-term strategy in mitigating mental health issues and suicide among Malaysians, he said the health ministry has developed a national mental health strategic plan up to 2025.
This will be launched on Oct 10 in conjunction with World Mental Health Day.
He said the ministry aims to boost its mental health and psychosocial support services, working with NGOs to increase access to these services, especially for those in need.
The psychosocial support helpline allows ministry personnel to counsel those struggling with mental health issues and even bring them to the hospital to be examined and treated, if necessary.
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