KUALA LUMPUR — Stigma remains the biggest barrier preventing Malaysians from seeking mental health support, despite growing awareness and the availability of services, said Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) president Professor Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj Chandeasekaran.
He said many people still struggled to take the first step of seeing a doctor or mental health professional because they feared how others might perceive or judge them.
“The most crucial part here is stigma, which is the number one cause. People are just afraid to take the first step into a clinic,” he said in an interview with Scoop after the launch of MindCare by Ziloy on the TNG eWallet platform at Connexion Conference and Event Centre today.
According to Andrew, the digital platform could help reduce this barrier by allowing users to explore their mental well-being privately before deciding whether professional intervention was needed.
“This app allows you to take the first step, and take the first step with a good grip, without worrying about what people will think or how people might judge you,” he said.
He also stressed that mental health should not be viewed solely through the lens of mental illness, arguing that greater emphasis should be placed on mental well-being and prevention.
“I don’t think it is understood enough, because people think of mental health as a problem, as a pathological issue. They equate it with mental illness, whereas we are focusing on mental well-being as well,” said the Malaysian Society for Academic Psychiatry (MSAP) president.
Andrew said this approach could help normalise conversations about mental health and encourage people to seek support before their problems escalated.
He also acknowledged concerns over excessive social media use and screen time, saying these could negatively affect mental well-being and interpersonal relationships.
However, he said digital platforms should not be rejected altogether as they had become an important part of everyday life.
“The focus should be on the responsible use of the digital space,” he said.
Andrew said integrating MindCare into the Touch ‘n Go eWallet ecosystem could help make mental health support more familiar and accessible to Malaysians.
“Instead of having a separate app, an add-on to the whole gamut of services in the digital space, we thought it would be good to link it up with TNG eWallet, because this is what people use,” said the chief medical director of QuantamNexis.
He said the platform could also help users recognise that not every concern required immediate intervention from a psychiatrist or psychologist.
“Half the time, you don’t even need to see a mental health professional,” he added.
Andrew said people could instead benefit from information, guidance, early support, personal practices or spiritual needs, depending on their circumstances.
He also highlighted the shortage and uneven distribution of mental health professionals in Malaysia, particularly in the private sector, which he said was mainly concentrated in the Klang Valley and Penang.
Government services, he said, were available nationwide but faced a heavy workload.
Against this backdrop, he said MindCare also provided a platform for general practitioners who had undergone intensive six-month mental health training to identify and treat mental health issues within the community.
The concerns highlighted by Andrew were also reflected in his speech at the launch, where he said MindCare was developed to make mental well-being support “more accessible, more convenient, and most importantly, most acceptable as part of our everyday life”.
He said the partnership with TNG Digital was significant because the eWallet was already familiar to Malaysians, allowing mental health support to become part of an existing digital ecosystem rather than something people turned to only during a crisis.
Andrew also cited research by Relate Malaysia which, he said, showed that only one in four Malaysians who recognised that they needed mental health support actually sought help.
He said the figure indicated that accessibility alone could not explain the treatment gap, with stigma remaining a major factor.
“People worry about being judged. They worry what others might think. They worry about being labelled as weak, unstable, or incapable,” he said in his speech, adding that digital platforms could provide a more private and less intimidating first step for those hesitant to seek help.
Earlier today, QuantamNexis partnered with TNG Digital to launch MindCare by Ziloy on the TNG eWallet platform, with the aim of encouraging Malaysians to take the first step towards better mental health. — August 12, 2026