LEMBAH Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil will table amendments to the Mental Health Act during the Parliament sitting later this month if none of his colleagues are bringing the issue to Dewan Rakyat.

“I will have to speak to my colleagues to see if anyone has current plans in place or whether there are any other laws being proposed for this session or future sessions of parliament.

“If there are none, I will advocate for it,” said the Lembah Pantai MP.

Fahmi also said how practitioners or psychiatrists approach their patients needs to be reviewed.

“We should have in place anti-discriminatory laws to not turn away people with mental illnesses,” he told The Malaysian Insight after a forum entitled “The Fight For Happiness: Forum on mental health & social justice by Relate Malaysia” organised by Arts for Grabs and KL Alternative Books at The Boulevard in Publika.

Fahmi said that he will advocate for reforms, not only through legislation, but also by creating a culture of more discussion on mental health.

“The problem of our general approach needs to change as well. I think we have to see how fast society can change, we used to not discuss domestic violence years ago, and the stigma stuck, but now, we discuss about how to overcome it.

“Right now, mental illnesses and wellbeing is not yet in discourse, but hopefully in time we can discuss this openly,” he said.

Dewan Rakyat is set to have its second meeting starting on October 15 and is set to last for three weeks. – October 6, 2018.