Make mental health screening mandatory in GLCs, agencies - PBM

Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) vice-president Dr Shatish Kumar has urged the government to make mental health screenings and awareness campaigns mandatory in all government-linked companies (GLCs) and key government agencies.

This comes after a worrying trend of mental health disorders and suicide cases in recent months.

“The agencies should get the help of mental health specialists to train the human resource units in their respective agencies to screen for mental health issues among employees through questionnaires, screening tools and counselling.”

“This would help to identify the individuals vulnerable to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression at an early stage and timely referrals can be made,” Shatish said in a statement today.

He added that in the long run, the government should make it mandatory for public listed companies to conduct mental health screenings regularly as well as provide tax incentives for companies conducting these initiatives in their workplace.

Emotional pressure, financial constraints

Mental health has been a longstanding concern, especially during the pandemic.

Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations Division director Nor Hisham Mohammad previously stated there has been a steep rise in the number of cases related to attempted suicide in 2020 compared to six years ago.

This month several suicide cases were reported in Penang involving a 22-year-old woman and a house officer from Hospital Penang.

Last year, the Health Ministry backed a push to decriminalise suicide as the first step to improving mental healthcare in the country. However, there have been no reports of discussions to table a bill to abolish criminal suicide.

The New Straits Times reported that between 2016 to 2021, there was a 61.7 per cent increase in suicide attempts. The majority of cases involve men aged between 19 and 40-years-old whereas, in 2021, there were 21 cases that involved teenagers aged 18 and below.

The leading causes of these mental health issues include emotional pressure, financial constraints, drug abuse and illness.

Shatish hoped that through these proposed initiatives, companies will work toward de-stigmatising this disorder.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of if one is suffering from depression as this, like many other diseases, can be treated and overcome,” he said. - Mkini