MP links 'kepala bapak' to mental illness, health minister turns tables

PARLIAMENT | A PKR lawmaker and Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam appeared to have different views on what the symptoms of mental illness are.

According to Zuraida Kamaruddin, who holds a social science degree, uttering the words “kepala bapak kau” was a sign that a person is suffering from a mental disorder.

"Sadness and depression are among the factors of mental illness that need to be dealt with.

"The use of aggressive speech, such as ‘kepala bapak kau' is a symptom of suffering from mental illness," added the Ampang MP during the question-and-answer session in Parliament.

Although Zuraida did not refer to anyone in particular, it was an obvious jibe at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who recently called the opposition "stupid" and stated "kepala bapak kau" in response to claims that the government had sold Malaysia's sovereignty.

The term “kepala bapak kau” literally means “your father's head”.

Responding to Zuraida, Subramaniam, a trained medical doctor, had BN lawmakers in stitches with his diagnosis.

"One of the causes of (mental) stress is when a health question becomes a political question. To reduce stress, we should know what questions can be asked and what cannot," he said.

"The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) conducted by the Health Ministry showed that 29.2 percent of Malaysians had mental health problems.

"However, this was only (referring to) mental health problems, not mental illness," he added.

The government had set up mental health community programmes at mental health clinics, in an effort to detect stress and depression in their early stages and promote awareness, according to Subramaniam.

He said that the ministry had also organised programmes in 2,343 schools nationwide and even provided support for the families of mental health patients.- Mkini