rom1215_

I think many are aware now, but it was indeed a widely held misconception that Raya is the New Year among the Chinese. In fact, even till now Raya is sometimes referred as Malay New Year (the literal translation of 馬來新年) in the Chinese speaking community, though not officially, but common enough to keep the misconception alive.

One of the reasons might be that for the Chinese people, the New Year (Spring Festival) is generally the most important - thus most greatly celebrated - occasion in a year. And as we observe how Raya is celebrated, especially in relative to other occasions, it's perhaps not too surprising that we assume the same it is for the Malay/Muslim as well.

Indeed some Chinese have the same misconception about Deepavali with the Hindus.

And I think in general we're doing better now, including in education - sad to say, but I don't remember my teachers (in SMJK) bothered to teach or clarify this with us when we're growing up (another reason the misunderstanding was rife) . But I think many Chinese are more respectful in this regard today.

It's good to see a minister not doing the same old things, but trying, at least, to do what is more impactful.

My reading now is also almost entirely on my iPad (mini ftw), because the books I read have always been harder to find in local bookstores so it has always been easier for me to get my books in digital copies. Haven't been to a bookstore in quite some time as well.

But bookstores will always have a special place in my heart - I'm quite sentimental about reading hardcopy books - just browsing in a bookstore, and the excitement in discovering something interesting to read, that's quite a joyful experience. (I mean, scrolling through webpages on the internet for something to read is just not quite that, haha!) And to reminisce how in my college days I and my sister would just hang around in MPH (rip) at Mid Valley, while our friends went for a movie or shopping - that was such a great time.

(Also, the stationery section of the bookstores - I just can't resist looking at and playing with the pretty things, then picking something to bring home, hahaha!)

But yeah probably will be sticking to ebooks at the moment - the main reason above aside, it's just so convenient. And I do feel like I read more and faster on the iPad. Perhaps one day I shall visit a bookstore, find a gem, and again immerse myself in a delightful experience of reading a physical book.

Ah, glad to know that your appointment was not affected. The traffic and parking around UMMC can be a nightmare as well.

Happy to hear that you have a chance with a new doctor! Hopefully your have a better experience with them! Mood disorders can be quite common to come with other conditions, so hopefully it's not something serious - but I'm sure you will know to talk to the doctor if it is concerning. My best wishes to you!

10 minutes! How bad can they be?! Anyway, hopefully you still manage to get on with your appointment.

These little things that carry a great lot of love!

Just recently (re)started Quiet by Susan Cain, have had this for long and had started reading before but stopped halfway.

Previous book was Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics by Jonathan Wilson.

I do prefer nonfiction to fiction.

Haha, I get what you mean, just that we usually don't use the word "force" (as the other friend pointed out, mandatory might be more apt here) because of the more negative connotation, but yeah.

And you did raise some good perspective too, including the perception of some people towards mental health treatment like therapy. Having a structure/system where we expose a person to mental health treatment (therapy), even if just for running a formal procedure, might be, in logic, better than not giving people the opportunity to get any help at all, but that also raises some questions, not just practical, but a lot of ethical ones as well.

Definitely as a MHP I'm inclined to agree with including counselling and therapy (mandatory or otherwise) in the treatment for people with suicidal risks or record. But was also sharing (a bit lamenting, ha) about the shortcomings of the current healthcare system in implementing the policies.

Can't say there is an ideal solution to that - but indeed some form of help is needed, and if it's structured as a standard policy, it's certainly for the better.

Force is a very strong word, haha. But treatment (including assessment, psychotherapy and counselling, medication if needed, and further psychosocial support plans) instead of punishment is the way to go.

Admittedly, treatment is already part of the response process for attempted suicide cases currently, in particular the government healthcare facilities have their SOP in handling attempted suicide patients that includes medical and psychiatric treatment, so it's not like the people don't get help at all. But the problem was that there is also a legal process that also has to go through - and that was the main issue (in addition to other issues). This particular article cited a study that showed often the "legal processes taking precedence over mental health care for suicide survivors, which can 'significantly delay treatment."' By removing this legal block, the idea is that treatment and rehabilitation can be the focus for post suicide attempt care.

But indeed, the post suicide attempt response treatment plan should be more specific - and inclusive - namely putting more emphasise on counselling and psychotherapy (which comes back to your question), especially if we're talking about government policies. But for that to happen we're looking at significant development in the mental healthcare system and policies. The current public mental healthcare system is, sadly, not the most adequate and balanced, that even if the government has plans to make it an official policy to have people with suicide attempts record/people with suicide risks to undergo counselling, I'm afraid that it might not be as how we hoped it would be. For one, the healthcare system is currently more geared towards medical healthcare than mental healthcare, so a suicidal person is more likely to be referred to a medical doctor (including GPs and psychiatrists) than to a mental health specialist (counsellors and clinical psychologists). But for suicide and mental health cases, specialised mental health services (counselling, assessment, therapy etc.) are often more crucial than medical services (medication). At the same time, we also have the issue of a shortage of mental health specialists (counsellors and psychologists) in the government healthcare system.

So back to your question - helping suicidal persons (with proper mental healthcare, including counselling/psychotherapy, medical treatment, and psychosocial support plans) instead of punishing them should be a no-brainer indeed. And now that we have already taken the step forward in decriminalising suicide, we have to see what comes after.