Are K-Dramas Causing Teen Suicides? PAS Senator Suggests This In Response To Mental Health Issues

By Quinny Tan  •  14 Oct 2021 in News

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Too many have suffered from mental health issues from this year alone, and some unfortunate circumstances have led to the dire outcome of suicide. It’s clear that this is a topic to be taken seriously.

Yet, this politician has publicly shared his thoughts on the matter, and to say that they’re insensitive would be an understatement.

PAS Senator Mohd Apandi claims that Korean dramas have contributed to teenage suicides in Malaysia.

He told the Dewan Negara, K-dramas tend to depict suicides as common for those who feel they have failed in life.

“Agree or not, when there’s a failure, there’s suicide.” pic.twitter.com/TfwsnUfXJ2

— BFM News (@NewsBFM) October 13, 2021

PAS Senator Mohd Apandi Mohamad suggests that Korean dramas are one of the reasons for the alarming suicide rates amongst Malaysian teens.

While debating the 12th Malaysia Plan at the Dewan Negara sitting yesterday, the senator insinuated that suicides are portrayed in K-dramas as somewhat of a common event among those who believe they have failed in life.

“Agree or not, when there’s a failure, there’s suicide. Failure, then suicide. Is it because they are influenced by these Korean dramas?” said Apandi.

He made this remark during a mental health debate in Parliament yesterday, prompting others to question his K-drama habits.

“Many teens who take their lives, whether we agree with it or not, Korean dramas influenced their deaths. All Korean dramas have suicide scenes,” the 71-year-old said.

This was in response to the need for more measures to improve mental health in Malaysia that was brought up by People’s Justice Party senator Fadhlina Sidek, who agrees that there are a myriad of factors causing suicides among teenagers, and media plays a huge part in it.

“The way the media reports suicides are very important,” Fadhlina said.

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and Maszlee Malik rebutted the PAS senator’s statement and questioned exactly what K-dramas he was watching.

Senator PAS: K-drama penyumbang kes bunuh diri remaja!

K-drama yang mana ya?

Apa pendapat anda? https://t.co/17ZWB0FBXA

— Maszlee Malik 🏴🇲🇾 (@maszlee) October 13, 2021

“PAS senator says K-dramas contribute to teen suicides. I wonder which K-drama is that?” says Malik.

Err… what K-Dramas he is watching.

But this is oversimplifying and down-playing the issue without addressing the root problem and provide the necessary support https://t.co/R3McgghS6Z

— Kelvin yii (@Kelvinyii88) October 13, 2021

“This is oversimplifying and downplaying the issue without addressing the root problem and providing the necessary support,” Yii tweeted.

As soon as netizens heard about this, you can only imagine the uproar of tweets slamming his statement. Here’s a few examples:

Kdrama is not even real. Real things that happens in Malaysia actually cause teenagers attempted suicide. Don’t make kdrama as biggest and nonsense excuses because we all actually love kdrama than malay drama . Malaysia Government, you know you can do better right ? https://t.co/Un2D5I6jKV

— xxmeralee🎨🧦 (@xxnothzmerasfea) October 13, 2021

Peer pressure, academic pressure, family/parents’ issues are among the leading problems of teenage suicide takde pula nak highlight. Ada je kdrama yang emphasize the importance of mental health such as It’s Okay To Not Be Okay… https://t.co/XxHTlGnUmm

— Shahkeerah Kamarul (@ShahkeerahK) October 14, 2021

There are many causes of suicide, and its definitely not a topic to joke about. So many lives have been lost from mental health and other unfortunate circumstances.

The police reported 486 suicide cases between January and May this year, with the majority of them being in Selangor.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones! Look out for each other. <3