My Advance Care Plan (ACP)
Medical Development Division
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Kompleks E, Presint 1
W.P. Putrajaya
BM
Is this Euthanasia?
No. Absolutely not. ACP is never about helping anybody to die.
Does this help make dying faster?
No. Dying is a natural process. Advance Care Plans do not speed up nor interfere with this process. It may help reduce the symptoms endured by the patient only.
How is it different from suicide?
Totally different. NOT suicide.
Suicide is about planning to die. ACP is about how to live the remaining parts of ones life better, more comfortably and more in control.
Is this against my religious obligations?
Most major religious authorities have issued support of advance care planning directives in other countries for many years.
In Malaysia, consultative agreement has been made with all the major religious authorities on the proper use of the advance care planning process.
Does this contravene the law?
At its present format, although Advance Care Planning is not yet a legal plan; it does have basis in law, in that it requires mental capacity to provide full informed consent, the documentation to support it with witnesses and the ability to change ones mind willfully.
Being considered legally persuasive internationally, it certainly does NOT contravene the law.
Will I hurt those I leave behind?
For those who have gone through the ACP process, often the clarity of decision making lifts a burden of uncertainty, and relieves a sense of hurt and regret that may persist after the passing of a loved one. It is much less likely to hurt someone you love with your ACP, than by not having an ACP at all.