Materia Medica Malaysiana

Five million Malaysians suffer from mental woes

ABOUT five million Malaysians are suffering from different types of mental problems, and the number is on the rise, reported China Press.

It said that in 1996, adult mental patients accounted for 11% of the population and children, 13%.

The number of adult patients had now gone up to 20-25%, it said.

The daily quoted Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Lee Kah Choon as saying that the jump in the number of such patients resulted from the fast diagnosis of the problems and public awareness of the illness.

“The public has started to realise that mental problems are not incurable and that has resulted in more patients coming forward to ask for help,” he said.

However, he said that many people still felt that having mental problems was a stigma, which prevented them from seeking help from doctors and experts.

He said in order to overcome the problem, the ministry would promote various activities, including encouraging the people to have a mindset change towards mental patients.

Malaysian Mental Health Organisation president Dr Rabindran Gonzaga told the daily that 90% of these patients would not hurt others.

He said many people tend to stay away from these patients as they were frightened by sensational news.