KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — The proposal to amend the Penal Code and decriminalise attempted suicide is still being studied by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

In a press conference today, the minister explained that the Cabinet had asked for the AGC’s opinion on the matter before deciding.

"We are still waiting for the AGC, I have raised the matter to the Cabinet members so that we can have a moratorium but the Cabinet members said to let the AGC finalise their opinion on the matter.

"Only then the Cabinet members will decide whether to decriminalise attempted suicide,” he said.

In October last year, Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang told the Dewan Rakyat that the move to decriminalise suicide has started but required some adjustments to the Penal Code as a result.

He said the home minister and the attorney general have agreed in principle to abolish Section 309 of the Penal Code that currently made survivors of attempted suicide liable for a fine or up to a year’s imprisonment upon conviction.

Khairy and Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah have both advocated publicly for the decriminalisation of suicide attempts.