The Malaysian Insight

THE increase in the number of Malaysians who committed suicide during the Covid-19 pandemic is shocking, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Langkawi MP said statistics have shown that Perikatan Nasional (PN) has no idea how to tackle the pandemic and manage the economy.

“If you (government) don’t know, then ask people… don’t be ashamed, human lives are at stake and it is not a small thing… 5,000 died (due to Covid-19), 2,000 have committed suicide,” he said during an interview with The Amin Idris online show last night.

Dr Mahathir said that 2,000 suicides is unprecedented for the country.

“2,000 suicides have never happened in Malaysia. This includes (suicides) among the Malays, Malay women. This is not a normal thing.”

He said that PN, on the other hand, wants only to remain as the government even though they have failed to help the people who are under pressure.

“I don’t care about politics. I’m sure there is a way we can reduce this situation (suicides).”

Dr Mahathir said since the total lockdown began on June 1, the government has failed to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases and help the people.

“The government only prioritises politics.

“Various measures have been taken but all of them are ineffective. He said that RM600 billion has been spent. But what can be seen? Now there is an additional RM150 billion (in aid) and we don’t see anything.”

He said that it seems that the government has no idea how to manage the crisis.

“This is a big crisis. A pandemic that has an impact on people’s welfare and social life because many people have lost their families, are suffering from lack of food, no money, they are struggling ...

“But what we hear is politics, how can we keep the government?”

During the interview, Dr Mahathir praised the campaign calling on people in need of help to raise the white flag.

“The people are not campaigning (elections). They are showing that there is a problem and need help.

“This is a good effort, because if we don’t help the people, then they will feel disappointed and commit suicide.”

Dr Mahathir said there is nothing wrong in raising the white flag.

“What’s wrong in raising the flag? Now, (government) don’t allow (raising the flag). They (the people) are crying. Their children have no food.

“This is not politics. It’s people who are facing difficulties. It is foolish not to help them.

“They have already raised the white flag, so it’s easy to send them aid.”

The campaign to raise the white flag was strongly opposed by PAS leaders such as Kedah Menteri Besar Sanusi Md Nor who claimed it was politically motivated.

He was reported to have said that the Kedah state government did not recognise the white flag as an effort to get aid and instructed applicants to make formal requests to its welfare agency.

The campaign to raise the white flag was also opposed by Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, the son of the late PAS chief Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

The Bachok MP was reported to have said that those in need of help should raise their hands in prayer to Allah instead of raising the flag.

Another son of Nik Aziz, Nik Omar, however, called on the government to immediately help those who are asking for aid.

Suicide cases have been a concern since the movement-control order (MCO) came into force in March 2020.

According to police data there has been a significant increase in suicides this year, with a majority of them involving women and teenagers.

The figure shows that more individuals had committed suicide in the first five months of this year compared to 50% of the total each year since 2019.

The number of cases involving women was five times higher than men for the entire period.

A total of 468 cases were found to have occurred from January to May this year, compared to 609 cases for the whole of 2019 and 631 cases in 2020.

Police also found that teenagers were more likely to commit suicide, with 872 people aged 15 to 18 compared to 668 victims aged 19 to 40.

The total lockdown was enforced on June 1 when Covid-19 cases were at an alarming level, with 7,105 cases.

Yesterday, the number of new infections remained high at 6,988 cases. – July 3, 2021.