Lam Thye: Govt needs to draft comprehensive mental health action plan

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PETALING JAYA: The government needs to set up a comprehensive mental health action plan, says Befrienders Kuala Lumpur patron Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (pic).

He said that the government should invest more on mental health by allocating more funding from the national budget.

“Under Malaysia’s Budget 2020, only RM344.82mil was allocated to mental healthcare which is slightly more than one percent of the total budget for healthcare. This is lower than the international average of 2.8%, ” he said.

Lee added in his statement in conjunction with World Mental Health Day on Saturday (Oct 10) that the National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 found that close to half a million of Malaysians are reported to have symptoms of depression.

He added that the figure has risen throughout the pandemic, saying that the Health Ministry recorded 465 cases of suicide attempts between January and June 2020.

Lee also said that the government needs to increase the number of mental health professionals such as psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in Malaysia to provide access to cost-effective treatment for mental health patients.

“Data from 2018 shows that there were 410 psychiatrists in our country with the psychiatrist to population ratio of 1.27 per 100,000. This is much lower than the WHO recommended ratio of 1 to 10,000, ” he added.

Lee said that the Education Ministry could include aspects of mental health in the school syllabus as a survey by NHMS 2019 shows that 424,000 children were experiencing health problems.

“Parents play an important role in providing a loving and encouraging environment for children to grow up feeling safe to express their feelings and talk about their mental health openly.

“Be kind to people around you and if you know someone who is struggling with their mental health, offer emotional support by listening without being judgmental, ” he said.

Lee said that the Befrienders was contacted by more calls from distressed and suicidal Malaysians throughout the recovery movement control (MCO) when most Malaysians thought conditions were getting better.

Those in need of help can contact the Befrienders service nearest to them. For a full list of numbers as well as operating hours, go to www.befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia or call 03-7627 2929.