Youth suicide costs a staggering RM350 mil each year, according to Relate Malaysia’s new study.
In the paper, Economic Cost of Youth Suicide Malaysia, Relate Malaysia found that, for every youth suicide in 2019, the Malaysian economy lost RM676,165. Dr Chua Sook Ning – clinical psychologist and founder of Relate Malaysia – said the shocking figures should serve as a wake-up call to the Malaysian Government to invest more in youth mental health, including effective suicide prevention strategies.
As the country heads into its second Movement Control Order (MCO), Dr Chua expressed her fears that young people could see a rise in anxiety, stress, and depression, leading to a soaring demand in mental health support as Malaysians struggle with lockdown restrictions.
She said: “Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, mental health services were already under pressure to cope with the number of young people struggling with suicidal ideation.
“In 2019, Befrienders estimated that more than one-third of the 30,075 calls to its 24-hour hotline were from people who thought about ending their lives. Of these callers, one-in-three were aged between 15-to-29.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bukit Aman Management Director Datuk Ramli Din reported that, between March 18 to October 30, 2020, 266 people ended their lives by suicide, of which 60 were teenagers aged between 15 and 18 (23%), and 141 were aged between 19 and 40 (53%).
The study from Relate Malaysia measured economic costs of youth suicide from three perspectives:
- Years of life lost is estimated by subtracting the average age of death (22) by suicide from the average life expectancy at birth (78.2 years for females and 74.1 years for males).
- Years of productive life lost is estimated by subtracting the average age of death by suicide from the retirement age of 60.
- Lost economic productivity is estimated using the human capital method, which calculates the value of an average individual’s future earning until retirement age.
In total, youth suicide in Malaysia in 2019 costs 27,847 years of life, with a high economic cost of RM346.2 million. The economic cost of youth suicide consists of the economic loss due to foregone income and the loss of potential government revenue due to foregone personal taxes.
In 2019, an average daily suicide rate of two Malaysian youths cost the economy RM1.32 mil per day, and for every successful suicide, it is estimated that 10 to 20 others attempt suicide.
Dr Chua described the alarming rates of youth suicide as a “public health issue” in Malaysia and called on the nations lawmakers to attend urgently to this growing health crisis.
She said, “The 2021 budget only allocated RM313 million, less than one per cent of the health budget to mental health resources. The current investment in mental health systems in Malaysia is simply insufficient to build a healthy society.
“Particularly during these challenging times as we navigate the COVID-19 crisis, provision of sufficient support for people in need of mental health services – and especially young people who are thinking about ending their lives – is urgently needed.
“We also need to see greater education on suicide prevention throughout Malaysia, and to de-stigmatise and de-criminalise suicidality. People who experience extreme emotional crises need our help, not our condemnation. And many who might otherwise seek help are often reluctant to do so for fear of being labelled as a criminal.”
