Mental health data a wake-up call
The Malaysian government is facing pressure to address a mental health crisis among civil servants after data revealed over 55,000 employees are at high risk. Experts are calling for a more integrated psychological infrastructure, including better screening, professional intervention, and workplace policy reforms.
Why it matters
Addressing mental health in the public sector is critical for maintaining government productivity and ensuring the well-being of essential service workers.
PETALING JAYA: The high number of civil servants at risk of poor mental well-being is a wake-up call for urgent action.
Urging the government to strengthen the National Psychological Infrastructure, Malaysian Psychological Association president Assoc Prof Dr Shazli Ezzat Ghazali said professional expertise, competency and ethical standards, research, data, screening, intervention and referral systems, must be integrated into a coordinated ecosystem.
On Sept 21, Public Service Department (JPA) director-general Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz said some 55,169 civil servants had been identified as being at high risk of poor mental well-being.
Referencing the Digital Psychological Health Profiling System, he said the figures also comprised civil servants who were at risk of taking their own lives.
Wan Ahmad Dahlan had also said JPA is currently developing mental health guidelines and a Happiness Index for the civil service as part of efforts to improve the well-being of its workforce.
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