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AS the new decade gets going, I feel it is an appropriate time to highlight the continuing menace of poor mental health affecting communities throughout Malaysia. While we look optimistically to the new decade ahead, it is important that we do not forget about the past and address persisting issues. This is especially true if we want to ensure that we do justice to the lives lost to suicide in the last decade.
For the past few years, there has been a rise in cases of self-harm and suicide affecting youths. Accor-ding to a YouGov poll, one in 10 young Malaysians have experienced some form of mental health issues. A quarter of Malaysians have experienced suicidal thoughts and engaged in self-harm. A report from a local health research body says that 356 people were lost to suicide between 2014 and 2019. Mental health victims are also getting younger, with school-aged children experiencing an uptick in mental health issues.
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