KUCHING: Public interactions need to be encouraged more now to safeguard the mental health of young children in the country.
“It has been reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that 424,000 children in Malaysia had suffered a little in terms of mental health due to the almost three years of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali in making the call today
“It is not just the children in Malaysia who have had to endure the sense of isolation and helplessness due to being at home all the time.
“This can affect their mental health especially if they are staying in a small home,” she said to reporters after officiating at the Sarawak Indian Women Association (SIWA) Family Day/Mother’s Day Celebration/ Education Tour at the Borneo Culture Museum.
“There was almost none face-to-face interactions with people other than their own family members and they were also more actively interacting online.
“All that is not really very healthy for their mental health. Now that we are already in the endemic phase, it is time for us to have more public or face-to- face interactions,” she added.
Sharifah also commended SIWA and its president Penghulu Lucy Lingam for organising the programme to expose families especially their children to public functions such as touring the museum.
“It is an inspiration to me and I will bring the children in my kawasan to the museum. It is a great programme as for the past three years, our children only stayed at home.
“Now, with the endemic phase, it is a great opportunity to bring your children out. This is an inspiration and it does not matter if it is a small or big programme, the fact that Lucy and Siwa members organised a programme to bring the children out, your effort is what matters,” she said.
Sharifah also gave a grant of RM5,000 to SIWA at the function.
