Hollywood star Henry Golding has voiced his concerns over the alarming rise of suicide and those attempting it in his home country.
The Crazy, Rich, Asian star said it was important to speak up about this pressing issue and has challenged fellow Malaysians to reach out to others in their lives, not just to make small talks but also enquire on their wellbeing.
Recently, the 34-year-old actor took to Instagram to share a heartfelt message, specially to those going through a challenging period under the lockdown.
“This is a really tough video to make, but I think it’s really important that I try my best to say something. I know that Malaysia is going through so so much at the moment… One thing that we take for granted is our mental state (and) mental fragility. It’s one of the things that we overlooked all of the time,” he was quoted as saying.
“We’ve lost our jobs, we haven’t seen out friends in ages, we’re cooped up especially in densely populated areas like Kuala Lumpur, or any of the major cities. It’s very restrictive as to who you can see and what you can do… It’s only natural for thoughts to go dark and I wanted to tell everybody is that there are friends out there who are thinking of you. There are people out there who are for you and are worried for your wellbeing,” he added.
According to the police, a total of 631 suicide cases were recorded in 2020, 468 cases (January to May 2021) and 609 cases (2019). Selangor had recorded the highest number of cases at 117 as of May this year.
Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said factors such as emotional distress as well as family and financial problems have led to the daily average of two suicide cases from 2019 until now.
Those suffering may reach out to befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia for help in different states; or call Befrienders hotline (03-7627 2929); Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935 or 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999) and Malaysian Mental Health Association (03-77825499).
