SHAH ALAM, June 5 — The Selangor Mental Health programme continues to be strengthened through PeerZ, a youth mental health initiative that adopts a peer-support approach within schools.
State executive councillor for public health and the environment Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the pilot programme, which began in March, is being implemented at SMK Bandar Utama 3 and SMK Bandar Utama 4 through two core modules: mental health awareness and helping skills.
The state government remains committed to ensuring that early intervention approaches, such as PeerZ, improve students’ mental well-being and create a more supportive and inclusive school environment.
“We will provide training and additional skills development for peer counsellors to ensure that they are also able to identify issues related to mental health distress among their peers.
“This exposure may enable them to detect such issues more effectively and confidently, while also equipping them with the knowledge to manage these situations appropriately,” she said.
The project was introduced in response to the growing incidence of bullying and mental health challenges among adolescents, including serious cases reported in schools.
“Young people today may be experiencing challenges that previous generations never encountered, and some bullying cases can be extremely serious.
“That is why we want to ensure that peer counsellors are able to identify such issues more effectively and know how to respond appropriately,” Jamaliah said.
She added that the state government will first evaluate the programme's effectiveness during its initial phase before gradually expanding it to more schools throughout Selangor.
The expansion would depend on several key considerations, including the readiness of participating schools, the availability of facilitators, and the outcomes of the ongoing assessment of the pilot programme.
“Skills enhancement training will also involve teachers and peer counsellors to ensure interventions are more effective and ethical, alongside collaboration with relevant agencies and mental health experts to broaden the programme’s reach and impact,” Jamaliah said.
The state government continues to strengthen its mental health agenda, with funding for the initiative increased to RM1.5 million this year, up from RM700,000 previously.
She said the additional allocation will provide greater capacity for Selangor to focus on specific groups, including young people and school students, who are increasingly exposed to life pressures and bullying-related issues.
“The increase demonstrates that the state administration has never sidelined mental health issues. Numerous efforts have been undertaken. For example, we have our own hotline and a self-screening mental health feature within the SELangkah app.
“We have also established counselling hubs, so that if the hotline or self-screening tools feel too digital and individuals require face-to-face support, we can provide that option to meet their needs,” Jamaliah said.
For counselling and psychiatric services, 313 of 412 registered clients attended and benefited from free counselling sessions during the implementation period from August 30 last year to January 31 this year.
“This service is available at 11 Sehat Hub locations across all nine districts in Selangor. Among the most common issues raised by users are mental health and psychosocial concerns, family-related matters, and addiction.
“When all initiatives and programmes carried out under Selangor Mental Health from 2021 to 2025 are combined, approximately 14,063 individuals have received assistance and support,” she said.
