Dr Nicholas Pang Tze Ping, a lecturer at the Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), said mental health issues could range from a mild stress to severe mental illness.

He said there were effective psychological interventions that could be used to help people cope with stressful situations.

“This will help us as a society to shift our focus away from mental illness towards mental wellness. Instead of only acting when people are mentally unwell, let us use the tools we have to keep people in wellness,” he said in a statement today.

Pang said the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 found that 29.2% of Malaysians had stress or mental health issues.

He said Sabah recorded 42.9% of its people having experienced stress or mental health issues. This compares with 39.8% of people in Kuala Lumpur and 39.1% in Kelantan, he said.

“It is important that we do not focus on the raw figures. Instead, we should devote our energy to working together to tackle these issues,” he said, adding that it would also require good research from universities and healthcare sectors.

Pang, who is also the deputy chairman of the 2nd Borneo Quality of Life Conference 2019, said UMS pledged as an academic institution that it would be a responsible and devoted “public think tank” to run mental health projects and conduct appropriate good quality research commissioned by the Sabah government.