Petronas: PETRONAS Partners With Malaysian Psychiatric Association To Safeguard Employees’ Mental Wellbeing

PETRONAS has partnered with the Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) to launch the MIND-A-CARE First Aid for Mental Health Training Programme through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties in November 2021.



Under the partnership, MPA will collaborate with PETRONAS to provide training in mental health first aid. Existing Designated First Aiders (DFA) and identified employees at PETRONAS’ operations will be trained to become certified MIND-A-CARE first aiders through the programme. They will be equipped with the necessary skills to assist or refer affected colleagues to seek professional assistance through PETRONAS’ Employee Assistance Programme known as myFriends.



PETRONAS Head of Group Health, Safety and Environment, Yong Sai Chung said: “The health and safety of our employees is always our utmost priority. These past two years have been especially hard for many of us, and it is more critical than ever to empower our people in recognising the signs and symptoms of mental distress, and to be the first aiders who can assist those in need. Our employees are our greatest asset, and it is our responsibility to ensure they are safe and healthy, both physically and mentally.”



MPA President, Dr Hazli Zakaria said: “We are proud and excited to partner with PETRONAS to develop an in-house mental health programme, the first ever for MPA and in Malaysia. One of MPA’s main agenda is to increase mental health literacy among Malaysians, and hopefully this initiative will encourage other organisations to follow in PETRONAS’ footsteps.”



The inaugural batch of certified trainers, comprising 19 employees, completed their Train the Trainer module on 30 November 2021. PETRONAS expects to train 1,000 MIND-A-CARE first aiders in the next three years.



MIND-A-CARE complements PETRONAS’ ongoing Generative HSSE Culture efforts and supports the Malaysian Government’s Mental Health Strategic Plan 2019-2025 as well as the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goal number 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing.