Shazeema Mashood Shah said it was essential that any stigma attached to students seeking help must be addressed and dealt with.
She was referring to the case of the 13-year-old student who died at the hospital about one week after a suicide attempt. The student was harshly disciplined after being accused of stealing a teacher’s iPhone.
“Yes, they do have counsellors at schools, but we must look at the stigmas attached to seeing counsellors for help,” she told Free Malaysia Today.
“It is essential to make counsellors more approachable to students. This will make a world of difference when a student has a problem and needs to talk to someone,”
She added that this was because there is also a general stigma over the issue of seeking help from mental health professionals in Malaysia.
Shazeema advised counsellors who are not savvy with helping students with more severe mental health problems to reach out to those who were more qualified on the subject.
“Teenagers can be easily troubled by many factors. They can be triggered by major disappointments, stress and pressure to excel, and depression. If someone has tried to commit suicide before, then the likelihood that it could reoccur is high,” she said.
In the case of M Vasanthapiriya, who was accused of stealing the iPhone, the student could have been under intense pressure and she might not have known what to do and how to handle the situation and that could have driven her to suicide.
Shazeema called for more public awareness campaigns to advocate to students that there is always someone available to help them deal with their problems.
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