PRESS STATEMENT.
Tragic Incident at Brickfields Require Mental Health Reform in the Country
Early this morning, a pair of husband and wife jumped from their 29th floor condominium at Jalan Tun Sambathan, Brickfields after poisoning their own son. I believe the incident triggered many questions and responses from the public as well as the authorities on what were the underlying reasons for the couple to chose such devastating way in taking their child and their own lives.
I am of the view that such tragic incident requires the authorities to conduct full investigations not only on from the criminalogical aspect but also from socio-economic and physcho-social perspective. I emphatized with the fact that the current harsh living condition of urban poor due to commercially driven development and economic disparities would most of the time be too unbearable for the families or individuals affected that it could cause them to suffer from anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies.
As a consequence, in addition to in-depth investigation, I also call for a proper diagnose of the incident with the view of coming up with proper plan of action to address mental health issues on the ground. I hope that the government will observe similar incidents in order to ensure that any future development programme will not only be commercially driven and profit-oriented but people-centred as well.
—
Nurul Izzah Anwar
