KUCHING: The Minist r y of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development is engaging Universiti Malaya (UM) to help do a research on the State Social Wellbeing Index, its Minister Dato Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah disclosed. “We want to see how do we stand, the position of Sarawak in terms of social wellbeing index, specially now after the election. If the studies were done before the last generation election maybe they could be different. But now after the general election, the situation has changed. “This is something that we need to see.
We also want to see mental health and how it contributes to societal wellbeing of a nation,” stressed Fatimah in her speech during a work visit to Bunglow Lada, a half-way home for ex-mental patients at Jalan Stakan, Kota Sentosa near here yesterday. Fatimah said there are so many things that contribute to a person’s wellbeing in a community.
She said the State Social Tranformation Framework that had been developed had 10 pillars, namely Family Institution, Capacity Building, Housing, Social Harmony, Public Safety, Social responsibility, Social Space and Infrastructure, Good Governance Practice and Environmental Sustainability, Social Problem and Health Community wellbeing and social wellbeing encompass so many things and our lives are actually very complex and are made up of so many aspects not only physical, mental but many other things, she pointed out.
“For the pillars that I have mentioned, we have engaged Universiti Malaya to help us do the research on the State Social Wellbeing Index. We want to see how do we stand, the position of Sarawak in terms of social wellbeing index. “Mental wellbeing is something that we need to give high emphasis because if the mental wellbeing is not there, we won’t be able to achieve our personel wellbeing and community wellbeing.
“Along the way there must also be some support system- the help of counsellors as well as psychiatrists is also very important. “It is about trying to understand yourself and trying to cope up with the stress, anxiety and depression so that it won’t reach that stsge where it affects the day-to-day living,” she said. According to Fatimah the Halfway Home is a very important transist place for ex-patients from Hospital Sentosa who have no place to go.
The Bunglow Lada Half-way home at Jalan Stakan Kota Sentosa has six stay-in residents and 14 day attendants. Dato Wee Hong Seng, advisor of Sarawak Mental Association said mental illness affect 19% of the adult population, 46% of eenagers and 13% of children each year.
“In actual fact, two-third us experience a mental health problems in our life times, and stress is the key factor in this while stress isn’t a mental health problem by itself, it often lead to depression, anxiety, self harm and suicide. It can also lead to physical health problem too,” Wee said.
According to Dr Lau Kim Kah, deputy chairman of Sarawak Mental Health Association, the residents of the Half-way home are basically those who are well after they had received their treatment but because of community rejection they had no place to go and they will be placed there until such time they could find a job and then can move on into the community. He said one of the greatest obstacles that prevents them from being resettled into the community is the society’s misunderstanding and discrimination against those with mental disorder.
