GEORGE TOWN, June 1 — If Penang state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh had his way, there would be more community events, such as line dancing and potluck parties, to create a circle of trust among the community as a way to reach out to those with mental health issues.
It may seem prosaic or even simple, but he said the two-and-a-half years of lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic had inadvertently resulted in isolation and a weakening of self-resistance among those with mental health issues.
"I have informed the chief minister about this proposal, to ask the state assemblymen to organise more programmes so that these can help the people and help them find a purpose in life," the state environment and welfare committee chairman replied reporters.
He was asked about the state's measures to curb the growing number of suicide cases in Penang.
Phee explained that the community outreach programmes were intended to draw those who tended to isolate themselves to mingle with others again so that ties and trust can be built.
"We need to give them the opportunity to trust someone and a platform for them to find someone to trust," he said.
He said the state government is also looking at alternative ways to identify people who may have depression or the potential to fall into one.
"If we have draw-what-you-feel events, just by looking at the drawings, we can capture the signs from there," he said.
Last month, a total of eight people attempted suicide off the Penang Bridge.
Another person jumped off the bridge early this morning.
To Phee, these were "copycat” cases.
He attributed the increasing number to sensationalised media reports.
"Maybe after the state assembly, we will call a meeting with all the editors from all the press, it is not the fault of the reporters, the final say in the reporting of these news are with the editors, they want to sensationalise such news," he said.
He said that back in the 1990s, none of the media reported suicide cases.
"Maybe due to the economic challenges, and they do this to sell better, but this is not good for society," he said.
Phee also told reporters that the Penang state secretary has called for a meeting with the marine police, Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd and all relevant authorities this afternoon to discuss a proposal to install safety nets to catch jumpers, as a short-term measure.
"We have discussed about the technical details but any attachment to the bridge will need approval from the technical committee," he said.
He said that safety nets along the bridge is only part of a short-term measure, as what is more important is building the human connection.
He said the state formed a suicide prevention committee many years ago, adding that the PGCare Society has since been formed to manage mental health issues.
But he admitted that it was enough to just do so.
The strategy now is to expand the society's coverage by training up more people on dealing with people with mental health issues.
"We want to train the MPKK, the adun service offices and train the offices under neural language programming so they know how to talk to people," he said.
MPKK refers to the village community management councils while adun is the Malay acronum for assemblymen.
"This training is proposed to give to the ERT team of Penang Bridge one and two and on how to quickly respond to any cases on the bridges," Phee said.
He said those who maintains the CCTVs should also be train.
"In the short term, we may not be able to get the best, at lease we can have CCTVs with an audio system and we are also looking at artificial intelligence that will be able to detect any negative activities along the bridge," he said.
*If you are lonely, distressed, or having negative thoughts, Befrienders offers free and confidential support 24 hours a day. Contact Befrienders KL at 03-79568145 or 04-281 5161/1108 in Penang, or 05-547 7933/7955 in Ipoh, or 088 255 788 in Sabah, or email [email protected]. There are also free hotlines for young people. Talian Kasih at 15999 (24/7); and Talian BuddyBear at 1800-18-2327(BEAR)(daily 12pm-12am).
