KUCHING: If a person passed away at a young age it would not be just a great loss to the family; the country would lose a precious soul who could potentially contribute toward its future well-being.
This is why the government does not want youths involved in unproductive or harmful activities, said Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Speaking to reporters after a JCI TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Malaysians) press conference at Aurora Plaza by Jalan McDougal yesterday, Abdul Karim said he was deeply saddened upon reading news about a 16-year-old girl who committed suicide in Batu Kawa recently.
He seemed quite perplex by the fact that before she took her own life, the Form 4 student had actually asked her Instagram followers to vote whether she should continue to live or die.
All he could do was hoped that those who are under overwhelming pressure to find a solution instead of nursing suicidal thoughts.
“There is no problem that cannot be resolved. Try to have many friends that you can confide your problems in. Good friends can help you reduce your depression,” he said.
About social media, he was against using it to seek answers to personal issues and “social media users should not abuse the platform”.
“Don’t use it to defame someone or incite anger against other people,” he said.
He also thought that those who do use social media should not take what others say too seriously as there too many kinds of people who may not be good in the mind.
Regarding elders, he urged them to guide the young, and as for the young they should find good friends to make sure that they are on the right path in life.
