Malaysians avoid mental health treatment due to stigma, lack of resources

Shortage of health professionals, overburdened system limit access to care

- Hazlin Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR - A spate of recent incidents has cast mental health in Malaysia into the spotlight, with some experts saying that stigma and a shortage of health practitioners are stopping individuals from accessing the care they need.

The parents of a teenager who died after falling from her school building in the capital city on Oct 1 have called for greater awareness of mental health issues among young people.

They said they did not know how fragile their daughter's mental state was before she died.

"We feel guilty and responsible. We didn't realise how much pressure our daughter was under," Mr Simon Leong was quoted as saying in Mandarin during a Facebook Live broadcast on Oct 8.

In another incident, a 49-year-old woman on Oct 9 crashed into a group of university students while driving in northeast Terengganu state, killing three and injuring a fourth. Her husband said she had been experiencing hallucinations, but there were no records of her seeking mental health treatment in the state.

Terengganu Health Department director Kasemani Embong was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying: "Don't be ashamed to seek mental health assistance. Our society needs to change its perception of mental illness."