In a written parliamentary reply, Zaliha said this was done as an initial step to meet the population’s mental health needs.

“Also, to provide the best healthcare services nationwide, the government has implemented various initiatives to enhance the delivery of counselling and psychiatric services, including collaborative efforts with other government and private agencies,” she said.

She said the ministry had taken several other measures to increase the number of psychiatrists in the country such as reappointing retired psychiatrists on contract basis to serve with the ministry based on service requirements and critical areas.

She added that the ministry had also increased the number of sponsorship slots for medical specialist training in the field of psychiatry.

In 2020, the health ministry expanded its counselling services at the primary healthcare level by deploying 200 new counsellors nationwide.

Then health minister Dr Adham Baba said the initiative was aimed at providing mental health and counselling services to those in need, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.