Each state must have mental health centre’

KUALA LUMPUR: Community mental health centres to reach out to people with suicidal tendencies should be made more accessible.

Malaysian Mental Health Advisory Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said such centres should be set up in every state.

“In our desire to be a developed and high-income nation, we must not lose sight of the importance of mental health development,” Lee said in response to a report by New Sunday Times yesterday on the rise of suicidal tendencies among youth.

He said such centres could cater to troubled individuals with a better environment.

“It is necessary that these centres adopt an approach different from hospitals so that mental patients will feel more comfortable discussing their problems without the restrictions of clinical observations by experts.

“What is more important is that these centres remove the stigma attached to mental illness,” said Lee.

He said schoolchildren must be taught coping skills to prevent suicides due to cyberbullying.