What An Electronic Suicide Note Tells.

“Goodbye, my friend, goodbye My love, you are in my heart.”

This is the electronic suicide note written by the Malaysia's romeo who committed suicide for love. The note was written and posted as status update on Facebook, attracted up to 200 likes but only a few took this note seriously. Some might have found this note a real one, but no real actions was taken to kill his suicidal intention, including his sister.

Recalling the times when I first started using web instant messaging application to communicate, when most people are faking their identity and disguise as others. A male liked to disguise as female, to enjoy the fun of talking to virtual friends and without worries and beyond moral boundaries in the virtual world, who would believe that a suicide note is actually real instead of simply a prank?

Yes, the trend is different now. With the popular social networking sites - Facebook, the life of hundreds of millions of users worldwide are now connected to each other through the virtual world. Undeniably, it has become a part of our life, and most of the words that was told on the web could be regarded as the truthful words coming out from deep inside of our heart, and some are even those that we would never have the courage to tell others in reality.

So, at this point of time, can a suicide note posted on the web can still be ignored? The world has already answered that, when another dumb ass (Lun Sky) from Malaysia announced and intended to end his life by 15 December 2010.

Of course, no one is to be blamed by his death except himself. Some would say, what can I do even if I know? This person is seeking for death himself, why should i care? Some responded in the way that is aggressive, hoping that condemning his action can bring the guilt inside him that could actually lead to elimination his suicidal thoughts. Some even commented to ask the person to end his life right now (they think that suiciding is stupid, and should not care for person who does not even care for his own life). Typical example is: The world doesn't need you, why don't you just kill yourself right now?

Tonnes of criticisms and praises appeared after his death. Some regarded him as Malaysian Romeo that sacrificed himself for love;some said he is silly because he committed suicide for his 3 months short-life relationship, some said he is irresponsible towards his family, some said he is unfilial to his parents who brought him up and some said he did it for attention and as a punishment to his ex-girlfriend.

Imagine what a depressed person like him actually thinking, and hoping, at probably the very last minute of his life, that somebody could show up to tell him the reasons of living that can help him to get through the final sad moments of 45 minutes and keep him breathing till the next morning.

A sentence of comfort words conveyed face-to-face is definitely worth more than a simple Facebook reply. None...None of his friends showed up to offer help in the end, which ended up he jumped down from the 14th floor without others knowledge.

In my opinion, he was just too depressed, felt helpless and hopeless, and probably suffered from depression. He needed help and he already asked for help indirectly, through his status updates on Facebook. He should not be blamed for posting his last words on Facebook, because Facebook is just a medium for him to express his thoughts, about how hopeless he was when he decided to commit suicide. A psychologist interviewed by The Star also in the view that he could be saved if there was any inkling of help or hope.

Many argued that he should not post his suicide note on Facebook. I supported this at the beginning but changed my view afterwards. If we examine this issue from another dimension, conversely, posting on Facebook is actually a good practice. Logically think, do we want to see a dead body then only know there is a person intended to suicide, or we want to know it before he do it? For sure, a reasonable person would find an electronic suicide note can actually aid people in detecting any abnormal behaviour of his/her friends and take appropriate actions. Lun Sky is a classic example, he's probably dead by now if he killed himself before others discover his intention to suicide. I think, Alviss had actually saved his ass indirectly .People become greatly aware of the severity of this issue after his death and guided Lun Sky before the fatal consequences come. On the contrary, the note did bring great negative impacts on the girl's future for Alviss case, which the girl does not deserve. Good or bad, judge yourself.

In conclusion, suicide is a serious social issue that should be tackled in this modern society. The suicide rate is reportedly higher in developed country like Japan but this growing trend of suicide can also now be seen in developing country like Malaysia. Suicide is the worst permanent solution to a problem that does not solve any problems. There are many other reasons for us to live in this world despite the difficult life we have. It is our responsibility to those who care for us to live happily until we die naturally. Cherish our life , provide assistance to anyone when needed and spread the words to create awareness on this issue. Your little effort can make the difference.

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Blog Author: David Toh Kim Hou