Mental Health Issues in Malaysia

As developing countries build their infrastructures, there’s a lot of necessities to think about from creating strong economies, to making sure citizens have their basic needs of being fed, clothed and sheltered fulfilled. As a result, it’s not a surprise that issues regarding mental health can be viewed as a luxury. In fact, the argument can be made that a focus on mental health is a product of development. Despite this, in Malaysia, the government is taking nationwide efforts to tackle their mental health issues.

On September 26th, 2016, the New Straits Times (NST,) reported that “one in every three adults in the country was struggling with mental health issues.” (http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/10/177646/mental-health-plan-cards). To combat this startling statistic, the government has been working with the World Health Organization (WHO). They’ve created a five year plan to create awareness and provide mental health care services by targeting schools and workplaces to train administration, teachers and the general public prevention tactics as well as “coping skills and building up resilience.” While the Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah admits that this plan includes a lot of trial and error, I think it’s good that real efforts have been made at all. This is because what I find most concerning is that in Malaysia, “younger children (5-9) years showed a higher prevalence of mental health problems (13.1%), compared with older children of between 10 and 15 (11.4 percent) while poor mental health was reported to be highest among those between 16 and 29.”

The NST article didn’t really expand on these problematic statistics, so I did a little more research to understand why the numbers are the way they are and perhaps what’s driving them. According to the Malaysian Digest, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth. Interestingly enough, the Digest found that “youths from certain ethnic groups are more prone to suicide.” The highest incidence of youth suicide are male and of Indian descent. (http://www.malaysiandigest.com/features/568013-suicide-is-the-2nd-leadin...)

According to a 2014 Malaysia demographics profile, 50% of the Malaysian population identify as being Malay, 23% as Chinese, 12% as indigenous, 7% as Indian and the remaining 8% as “other” or non-citizens. (http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/demographics_profile.html) With this breakdown in mind, the question that arises is, if the Indian population represents such a small fraction of the 30 million people who live in Malaysia, why do they account for so many of the youth suicides? Malaysian Digest speculates that poverty could account for the rates as the majority of Indians are in the lower social class. It also says that “alcoholism is the highest amongst the Indian ethnic group” which could be another contributing factor.

Mental health problems aren’t just a medical diagnosis. If you’re depressed or have anxiety it affects your entire life, your relationships and your work productivity.
Such a significant portion of the population suffering from mental illness will undoubtedly have a negative economic impact on Malaysia. So it makes sense why her government has put so much money and work as they try to become more relevant internationally.

What makes the situation particularly unique, however, is the youth ethnic group that is most affected. While Malaysian Indians are of course technically Malaysians, they aren’t necessarily perceived to be so. They look and sound differently from Malays. It wouldn’t necessarily be surprising for the Malaysian government to not prioritize a minority group. (Note: I understand that race and ethnicity aren’t always factors when it comes to mental illness.) But the fact that it is very proactive about targeting certain communities and schools, and the fact that so many articles are being written shows that Malaysia believes mental health is a developmental issue. It’s honestly quite impressive and contemporary for a country to not only admit there is a problem but also want to do something about it.

I wonder what the healthcare systems are like in Malaysia and whether or not its infrastructure is sound enough to handle such a large (but also very vague) program that involves NGOs and the cooperation of foreign groups like the WHO. What are they modeling their five-year plan on? Do insurance companies cover mental health treatment and therapy? Are there enough professionals and doctors equipped with the skills necessary in wellness counseling? Will people be open to therapy? The articles I read didn’t touch on the cultural perspectives of mental illness and I’m curious to see if there is a stigma and if those stigmas differ depending on the ethnic group.