The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy said the government should increase funds for hospital-based psychiatric services, to 2.4% of the total health allocation in Budget 2020.

The group also called for suicide to be decriminalised, saying treating it as a crime had not been helpful.

“This worsens the mental health of those put through the criminal justice system, and discourages people from coming forward for treatment due to fear of prosecution,” said Galen Centre research officer Jade See.

Galen said the relevant clinical guidelines should be amended to ensure psychotherapy was introduced as a first line of treatment alongside pharmacotherapy.

The group also called for:

• Empathic guidelines and modules to train first responders on handling people with mental illnesses;
• Introduction of welfare aid and disabled status applications in hospitals;
  Establishment of multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral mechanisms on mental health; and
• Improvement of national data and monitoring of mental health disorders.
• It cited a 2015 health survey by the government which found that a third of adults in Malaysia suffered from mental health problems.

“This was a three-fold increase from a decade earlier,” it added.

“Mental disorders and suicide rates have risen over the same period. Urgent action must be made to tackle this growing concern.”