A Malaysian minister wants censors to delete suicide scenes from imported Bollywood movies after an ethnic Indian woman killed herself and two of her daughters in a way reminiscent of one of the films, news reports said on Thursday.
The woman led her four children, aged between two and eight years, to a railway line, sat down on the tracks and waited for them all to be run over,
The New Straits Times
reported. All except two of the children were killed.
G Palanivel, deputy of the Woman, Family and Community Development Ministry, who visited one of the surviving children in hospital, said the incident mimicked suicide scenes sometimes portrayed in Indian films, according to a newspaper. "Nothing good can come out of this," he was quoted as saying.
"We must stop showing movies where people walk to railway tracks to commit suicide," Palanivel said. "The Censorship Board must ensure these scenes are not aired."
He also urged Hindu religious organisations to educate the ethnic Indian community that it is wrong to commit suicide, and said the Welfare Department must provide counselling for people who were suffering from depression.
Ethnic Indians, mostly Hindus, make up about 8 per cent of Malaysia's 26 million population and are among the most economically disadvantaged. The woman who committed suicide had reportedly been arguing over financial problems with her husband, who recently lost his job.
{{/usCountry}}Ethnic Indians, mostly Hindus, make up about 8 per cent of Malaysia's 26 million population and are among the most economically disadvantaged. The woman who committed suicide had reportedly been arguing over financial problems with her husband, who recently lost his job.
{{/usCountry}}Films in the Tamil, Hindi and other Indian languages are popular in this Southeast Asian country.