KEMUDI Calls For Mental Health Support Programme For Journalists

KOTA BHARU, May 24 (Bernama) -- In an increasingly demanding media landscape that requires speed, accuracy and constant readiness, journalists are facing mounting work pressures that have made the profession one of the most vulnerable to mental health challenges.

Recognising this reality, the Kelantan Darul Naim Media Club (KEMUDI) has proposed that the government establish a regular and targeted mental health stress management programme to help journalists cope with increasingly complex career demands, especially in the digital era and the rapid spread of borderless information.

Its president, Muhammad Yatimin Abdullah, said such intervention measures are important to ensure the social protection and well-being of journalists continue to be safeguarded as they face high risks of mental stress due to the pressures of field reporting.

He said the initiative could be implemented through strategic collaboration with local public universities to develop psychological support modules tailored to the specific needs of media practitioners in each state.

“The government can implement this stress management programme regularly because the working environment and stress levels faced by media practitioners differ from one state to another.

“Implementation based on locality with the collaboration of local universities will ensure the programme is more effective and truly meets the needs of journalists in the field,” he told Bernama recently.

He was commenting on the challenges and social protection needs of journalists in conjunction with this year’s National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) celebration.

Elaborating further, Muhammad Yatimin said the challenges faced by mainstream media practitioners today are far more complex than those encountered by previous generations, particularly with the rapid advancement of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

According to him, journalists are now required not only to gather and report news, but also to filter and counter the flood of misinformation circulating online.

“Mainstream media practitioners need strong mental resilience to face this borderless world.

“We must always be ready to help the government combat fake news spreading through cyberspace because if left unchecked, it can create public panic. This is among the biggest challenges contributing to work-related stress among media practitioners today,” he said.

In this regard, he hoped the proposal for a stress management programme would receive due consideration to ensure the holistic well-being of journalists as frontliners in national information dissemination continues to be protected.

Previously, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil was reported to have requested the Federation of Malaysian Media Clubs to submit a proposal aimed at strengthening the welfare of former media practitioners, including establishing a more structured mechanism to assist industry veterans.

He said the proposal could be reviewed ahead of the HAWANA celebration to enable a more systematic framework for protecting the welfare of former media workers.

Carrying the theme “Media Integrity Strengthens Credibility”, HAWANA 2026 is scheduled to be officiated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the PICCA Convention Centre on June 20.

-- BERNAMA