Suicide: Housewives Easily Influenced By TV

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- Housewives, who are categorised as "heavy viewers", are easily influenced and emulate the scenes which they watch on television to solve their frustrations.
A study has revealed a high possibility of them committing suicide if they are frustrated with life and depressed due to family problems.
A consultant and expert in communication, Ishak Abdul Hamid from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) said, such a tendency had been explained by a western researcher, George Gerbner, in the "Cultivation Theory".
"The theory states that heavy viewers, comprising individuals who spend most of their time watching television, like housewives, are prone to believe everything they see (on TV) that they cannot differentiate between reality and fiction in the television programmes or films," he told Bernama here.
Ishak was commenting on a suggestion by Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk G. Palanivel last Wednesday that suicide scenes in Indian movies be banned as they were a bad influence on viewers.
Palanivel had made the suggestion following the death of a depressed mother and her two children who were run over by a train near Taman Tuanku Ampuan Najihah in Sungai Gadut, Negri Sembilan last Tuesday.
In the incident, housewife K. Sanggita, and daughters, J. Sagitah, 6, and J. Esther, 3, were killed while son, J. Jason Kalidas, 5, suffers serious injuries and is being treated at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Ishak, a lecturer at the Communication Department of UPM's Modern Language and Communication Faculty, said based on a social learning theory by Albert Bandura, the electronics media, especially television, had an effect on the social behaviour of individuals.
Statistics from the Health Ministry last year showed the suicide rate to be between eight and 13 people for every 100,000 people a year, i.e, seven deaths daily or more than 2,000 a year.
Indians made up the highest number with a ratio of 21.1 people for every 100,000, Chinese (8.6:100,000) and Malays (2.6:100,000).
According to the ministry, the main factors which contribute to suicides are poverty, loss of loved ones, divorce and drug addiction besides academic failure and history of mental illness and suicide in the family.

Meanwhile, a member of the Film Censorship Board (LPF)'s Appeal Committee, Senator Datuk Jins Shamsuddin said he too believed that scenes which had a negative influence on viewers, like suicide, should be censored.
He said the LPF would censor scenes considered sensitive for public viewing.
"However, as someone involved in the film industry, I believe there will not be films which contain scenes of frustration which lead to a person committing suicide," said Jins, who is also chairman of the National Film Development Board (FINAS).
Film Directors Association of Malaysia (FDAM) president Dr Mahadi J. Murat is also in favour of banning suicide scenes which he said should not be made the "climax" of a film because of its negative impact on society.
He said films and television programmes should contain elements which could educate the people towards moulding a society with a high moral standard and values.