The man whose viral suicide note blaming the government of cruelty, was a "victim of the system" where justice was not fairly applied, said Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

He likened the suicide of Sukri Saad, said to facing jail time for selling contraband cigarettes, to the self-immolation of trader Tariq Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, which sparked the Arab Spring.

Mujahid also likened the incident to famous 1963 photograph of a Vietnamese monk who torched himself in protest against the South Vietnamese Diem regime.