IN a bid to tackle suicide attempts at the two Penang bridges, a state executive councillor has proposed the installation of loudspeakers at the surveillance cameras.
State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh made the call to equip the closed-circuit television (CCTVs) with loudspeakers to at least ‘alert’ the authorities when spotting someone behaving suspiciously along the bridges.
He said CCTVs have already been fixed along the bridges but it was without any loudspeakers.
“I will ask the bridge operators to improve the system.
“When someone stop his or her vehicle near the rail of bridge for too long and act suspiciously, then the person, who is monitoring the CCTVs, can speak to the person or calm down the person via the speakers.
“While doing so and stalling for time, the rescue team can be alerted.
“It’s a right thing to do to at least lending a helping hand, ” Phee said at a press conference after attending the World Suicide Prevention Day at Komtar today.
The conference, with the theme of ‘Working Together to Prevent Suicide’, was held to educate the public to find someone to talk to when facing depression.
This was due to rising suicide cases taking place daily.
Organising chairman Saras Pillay urged the people to share the same goal of saving lives.
She said it was everyone’s responsibility to prevent suicide from taking place by consoling family and friends who face difficulties.
Her statement was also supported by Phee as the latter stated that wealth could not buy the life of a person.
“Even if you are a millionaire, you can’t use your money to replace a person when someone’s life is gone,” he said.
That is why he said that educating the public not to resort to suicide when facing difficulties is very important.
Meanwhile, Befrienders Penang chairman Damien Lee said an average of 3,000 to 4,000 phone calls were received each month.
He said those called the toll-free number mostly shared their personal problems with the Befrienders Penang volunteers.
“They mostly talk for an hour on their problems facing them in life,” he said.
Lee said Befrienders Penang could at least provide a platform or an ear to those seeking someone to speak to, adding that they were currently operating from 3pm to midnight daily.
He added that Befrienders Penang has planned to operate 24-hour daily but the lack of volunteers prohibited such move.
Befrienders Penang is a non-profit organisation that provides emotional support to those who are in need of help.
Story and pix by Edmund Lee