Amendments to the Mental Health Act were passed today, with one of the two clauses empowering crisis intervention officers to break into premises to stop suicide attempts.

Yesterday, two other related bills, namely the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 2023 and Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 2023, were also approved by the Dewan Negara.

Deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh wound up the debate on the three bills related to the decriminalisation of suicide attempts.

In a statement today, Ramkarpal said the three bills needed the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in accordance with Article 66 of the Federal Constitution.

“They will then be gazetted before they can come into force.”

He said pending the completion of this process, a moratorium on the implementation of Section 309 of the Penal Code is still in force. Thus, no prosecution can be conducted under this section for attempted suicide.

Ramkarpal expressed his appreciation to all quarters, including MPs, for their support in changing the approach towards suicide attempts from one that is punitive to treatment-based.