KUCHING, July 19 — The Sarawak government has increased its allocation to the state Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood for mental health promotions and activities, said Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said it would involve an appropriate allocation of budget for all aspects of mental health promotion, especially among schoolchildren in building their resilience.
“This will help to improve mental health and to reduce suicidal behaviour in the development plans for our state,” he told reporters after opening the 29th World Congress of The International Association For Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the 21st Malaysian Conference of Psychological Medicine (MCPM) at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today.
The chief minister said the government was particularly concerned about the impact of mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug abuse since these were important contributors to suicide.
He said the latest National Health and Morbidity Survey revealed that almost 30 per cent of the Malaysian general population experienced mental health problems.
While there might be many reasons for suicide among young people, Abang Johari pointed out that bullying had become an important contributory factor, adding that he was personally very concerned about this.
He said the pressure put upon students to achieve academic excellence contributed to an increased number of suicide cases following the announcement of results of major examinations.
Hence, he urged these aspects to be addressed by teachers, parents and other relevant agencies.
“For this they must be adequately trained. The state government will give due consideration to requests for assistance in the pursuit of these goals,” he said.
Abang Johari also urged academicians and professionals to conduct more research on suicidal behaviour in Sarawak to give a clearer picture of the extent of the problem in the state, its causes and approaches in managing this distressing problem among the people. — Bernama
