Suicide Cases

Suicide…the word “suicide” itself has negative connotation attached to it. According to www.dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as the intentional taking of one’s life. However, this definition is too brief to cover all aspects of suicides. What type of action can actually be considered as suicide? Social behaviours in countries across the globe are different, hence there exists differences regarding definition of suicide. For instance, in Japanese culture, there are fundamentally two types of suicide: honourable and dishonourable suicide. Honourable suicide is considered as a way of safeguarding the image of one’s family after a member has been found guilty of treacherous actions such as theft or dropping out of college, or to save the country as in the case of kamikaze pilots in WWII. On the other hand, dishonourable suicide occurs when one takes away his or her life for private reasons in a bid to break free from some struggles or troubles. The way Japanese see suicide may be one of the main reasons which contribute towards its high suicide rates.
On the other hand, in Malaysian culture, more often than not, suicide is defined as a person taking is or her life intentionally. Majority of Malaysians feel that suicide is a hideous action and committing or attempting suicide is considered as a crime in Malaysia. We opine that those who are mulling over suicide or are attempting suicide, are not in their right state of mind. At that point of time, they may think that suicide is the best solution to their problems, but in actual fact, it is not. Therefore, whenever anyone sees anybody trying to commit suicide in Malaysia, they will do all they can to stop the person from doing so.
Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the world, accounting for more than 400,000 deaths annually. The pattern of suicide and the incidence of suicide deviate from country to country. Cultural, religious and social values play some role in suicide. Compared to the West and some of the countries in the Asian region, the incidence of suicide is relatively low in Malaysia though the number of suicide cases in Malaysia has risen over the years. The preferred methods of suicide were poisoning and hanging.
In recent years, suicide rate in Malaysia has been on the rise. A newspaper report by The Star dated 5th June 2012 showed that more than 1000 people took their own lives over a three-year period. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that the ratio of suicides from 2007 to 2010 was 1.3 for every 100, 000 people but added that it could be higher. It is also reported that of the 1156 people who committed suicide over the three-year period, the majority were aged between 24 and 44. It is very alarming that majority of those who committed suicide are those who belong to the productive age category.
There are several contributing factors which may lead one to take his or her life. Many authorities believe that the cause of suicide later in life depends on bitter childhood experiences such as a broken family, insecurity, lack of parental love and affection, physical and sexual abuse and deprivation. Medical conditions, perceived burdensome to others, problem gambling, mental disorder, substance abuse, loneliness, strains of modern day materialistic life, marital problems, unemployment and relationship woes are also among the factors that trigger one to commit suicide.
In Malaysia, hanging, poisoning and fall from heights appear to be the most common suicide methods. The methods of suicide also depend on the environment, availability of suicidal materials, nature of job one does and other personal beliefs. For instance, the workers in the plantation sector in Malaysia often resorted to ingestion of agro-chemicals because of its free availability.