She said the years of government campaigns urging youths to “stay away” from drugs and other vices have had little success, going by the continuous rise in addiction among them.

“For many years, the government has been doing the same thing, telling youths ‘let’s avoid doing this’ or ‘stay away from that’, but it has not been effective,” she said in an interview with FMT.

“We need a new approach, which is why I have told my ministry to start providing online support or online assistance.”

Yeoh’s proposal is not new. Various studies in the UK and elsewhere have shown that the anonymity offered by online therapy has been a primary draw for youth seeking help to fight addiction.

According to ThoughtFull, a digital mental healthcare provider, cultural sensitivities are among the factors that have led many Malaysian youths to seek online therapy over in-person counselling.

As Yeoh pointed out, how do you even begin to talk openly about being addicted to pornography.

Lifeline for addicts 

Yeoh said studies by the Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES), one of her ministry’s agencies, had revealed that addiction, ranging from substance abuse to pornography and sex, was one of the most pressing issues that affect young people today.

“These are all different forms of addiction that young people struggle to overcome,” she said.

She said online therapy offers a promising way forward by providing a discreet and stigma-free avenue for youths to seek help.

Yeoh also stressed the need for a “second chance policy” for young people caught in cycles of addiction, noting that a single drug record, for example, can hinder their future job prospects and leave them dependent on the country’s welfare system.

“If we say the youth are the nation’s assets and future workforce, how do we expect them to contribute if one mistake writes off their whole future?” she said.

She said she has visited several National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) clients to better understand the issue of drug addiction from their perspective.

“Based on my conversations with them, all of them want to come clean and they want to live a normal life, but they need help, not judgment,” she said.

Last October, AADK deputy director-general (operations) Khairul Anwar Bachok highlighted a worrying trend in drug abuse and addiction among primary and secondary school students.

He said the agency’s statistics showed that there had been a notable increase in the number of addiction cases from 2022 to 2023.

The number of cases among primary school students rose from 11,611 to 12,755, while the figure increased from 36,236 to 37,321 among lower secondary students.

The highest surge was recorded among upper secondary students, rising sharply from 47,951 to 55,855.

Feasibility of online therapy 

Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) president Dr Andrew Mohanraj said youths are more likely to embrace the concept of online therapy as their commitments to school or university make such sessions more practical.

“They are also used to online studies and other interactions, so they are comfortable communicating in online therapy,” he said.

However, he cautioned that there are important caveats to therapy in general.

“We do not have enough trained mental health professionals in Malaysia to offer both in-person and online therapy,” he told FMT.

“In-person services are strictly governed by existing regulations, while online services often fall into a regulatory grey area. Ideally, both in-person and online therapy should complement each other, provided they are offered by properly accredited professionals.”

Mohanraj also highlighted the need to avoid stigma as the main draw in online therapy.

“Young people are more likely to seek help online than be seen accessing in-person mental health services,” he said.