AdminMethodist College Kuala Lumpur’s (MCKL) Counselling Services Centre (CSC) together with Klang Chinese Methodist Church organised a virtual public awareness symposium titled ‘MCO and MY Mental Health’ 2021.
The virtual interactive symposium provided an opportunity for stakeholders working on
mental health issues to frankly talk about the disorder, identifying the causes, symptoms,
effective treatment options and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a
priority for Malaysians especially during the yearlong movement control order.
Over 180 people participated in the event on 7th August to gain information on the subject. Mental health includes the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of a person.
According to Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, since January 2021, 89.4% of the calls made to the Health Ministry’s hotline has been requests for emotional and psychological support.
Among the issues faced by callers were loss of jobs and income, loss of a place of dependence, arguments among family members and marital problems in terms of physical and emotional abuse.
The Malaysian police force has also recorded 468 suicides in the first five months of 2021, compared to 631 in the whole of 2020.
Ms Joann Toh Suan Ee, Head of Counseling Services Centre (CSC), addressed the common issues and struggles people face during the MCO.
“One of our goals is to strive towards building a supportive and collaborative community. In
line with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community
Development’s efforts to support and increase the mental well being of Malaysians during the pandemic, we hope that today’s event will complement the government’s mental health
initiatives.” she said.
