KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — A total of 317 cases of attempted suicide among teenagers and adults have been successfully resolved as of July 20 since the Mental Health Crisis Helpline (HEAL) initiative was introduced in 2022.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the Malaysian Suicide Awareness Voice of Hope (MySAVE) programme also succeeded in preventing suicidal behaviour among the mentally ill through effective media writing.
"Good media writing can help mental patients get the idea (spirit) to recover in that we are also collaborating with the Higher Education Ministry and the Education Ministry to conduct mental health screenings," he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.
Lukanisman was responding to Senator Datuk Nelson W Angang's supplementary query on the specific initiatives to increase awareness and education about mental health among school students and higher education institutions.
The deputy minister added that mental problems require a joint solution between various parties including families, representatives of the people, and the community.
This is important to erode society's stigma against mental patients while also showing that the disease can be treated.
Meanwhile, responding to Senator Datuk A. Kesavadas' supplementary question about cooperation that can be implemented in the field of psychiatric treatment, Lukanisman said there are many challenges in doing so.
"One of the challenges is that the agencies under the government work in silo (separately) where we see they have programmes to deal with mental health alone," he said.
— Bernama
