BANGI, Nov 1 — Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar said his ministry was in the process of developing a National Human Resources Policy that will also cover workers’ health and safety as well as the aspect of mental health at workplace.

He said developing this policy was important as mental health issues form the second biggest health problems in Malaysia after heart disease, therefore intervention steps are much-needed to address this issue.

"We are serious in developing the National Human Resources Policy and the context of mental health will be refined,” he said at a press conference after attending the "Program Minda Sihat Hidup Sejahtera” at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) here today.

Sivakumar said the reported number of psychosocial cases, which describes the relationship between social conditions and a person’s mental or emotional health in the workplace, is less because of the low level of awareness.

According to the National Occupational Accident and Disease Statistics 2022, there was only one psychosocial case reported last year compared to other occupational diseases such as hearing impairment, bacterial infection and lung disease.

The minister also said Niosh has several initiatives including the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which aims to help identify and deal with workers’ mental health programmes in the early stages so that their performance at work will not be affected.

The EAP offers modules involving peer support, relaxation therapy using virtual reality equipment, brainwave analysis and group or individual counselling sessions. — Bernama