15 people go missing a day

 Published: Friday February 1, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday April 17, 2013 MYT 12:01:43 PM

15 people go missing a day          

 PETALING JAYA: A startling average of 15 people went missing every day in Malaysia last year, nearly a quarter of them Malay girls aged between 13 and 17.

According to police records, 4,804 people were reported missing from January to October last year and more than half of them did not make it back home.
In 2011, 5,961 people went missing.
Police blamed peer pressure and social problems for the majority of missing person cases involving teenagers.
Federal CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said a number of missing people came from broken homes, where the parents were either divorced or separated.
“It is a domino effect, where teenagers from broken families are at an increased risk of peer pressure to run away from home,” he said.
Some who went missing were school dropouts while others, especially girls, ran away with their boyfriends.
The records also show that those aged between 13 and 17 are the highest age group reported to have disappeared from home.
Of this, Malay girls form the biggest group, making up 1,124 missing cases from January till October in 2012 and close to four times the total of their male counterparts.
Comm Mohd Bakri said there were isolated cases of missing people being victims of sexual predators and human traffickers.
The numbers also do not include cases of kidnapping, where the abductors have asked for ransom.
“The police have been working tirelessly to track down those who have gone missing.
“It is an uphill task but we try our best to find each and everyone who is missing,” he said.
Comm Mohd Bakri said there were mechanisms, such as the NUR (National Urgent Response) alert for children below 12 who went missing, but members of society, especially family, should play their part as well.
“It is of the utmost importance that a missing person's report be lodged as fast as possible as it will assist us in mobilising our resources quickly,” he said.
Every child and teenager aged 18 and below who goes missing and are located will be sent for counselling with the Welfare Department.
Those who are abducted would undergo therapy to recover from their trauma, said department director-general Datuk Norani Mohd Hashim.
“The children will be given counselling until they can adapt themselves back into society without worry.”
Related Stories: Missing teens need the same attention Family pines for missing 21-year-old and child.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/02/01/15-people-go-missing-a-day.aspx/

12% Malaysians suffer from some forms of mental illness

Posted on 17 February 2012 - 05:26am
Last updated on 17 February 2012 - 02:29pm

Michelle Chun

PUTRAJAYA (Feb 16, 2012): Mental health is now a mind-bogging problem in the country, with more people believed to be experiencing some sorts of emotional stress and mental distress.
According to the 2011 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 12% of Malaysians aged between 18 and 60 are suffering from some forms of mental illness.
Mental health has also been recently discussed in the media with murders being committed by alleged mentally-ill patients, such as the one in Trengganu where a saleswoman was killed by an alleged mentally-deranged person.
Of the percentage affected by mental illness, depression made up 2%, psychosis 1%, worrying 1.8%, while the rest involved anxiety disorder, which is a chronic disease, and mild mental diseases.
In response to the rising number of people diagnosed with mental illness, the Mental Health Community Centre was set up by the Health Ministry in November last year.
The centre is the first of its kind in the country. It is affiliated to a government hospital that offers psychiatric community services. There are also home visits so that patients are not confined to the hospital, but have the support of family and community.
Hospital Putrajaya (HPJ) psychiatry department head Dr Azizul Awaluddin, who oversees the centre, told theSun that the centre was set up last year to help de-congest the hospitals, especially the HPJ and Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).
"This reduces waiting times for patients, and specialists can assess psycho-social factors like the home environment," he said.
The shortage of specialists to combat the rising number of patients is evidenced in a recent case of a grandmother in Petaling Jaya, who, charged for the murder of her granddaughter, had to be moved from the HKL to Hospital Bahagia as there was a lack of specialists to evaluate the severity of her illness.
"The HPJ staff members assigned to the centre are three psychiatrists, three medical officers, and four health professionals. At present, with the team available, we can cater to more patients than the 45 we have now, but we don't know our limit yet," Azizul said.
He said that three hospitals from Penang, Sabah and Kelantan have sought their assistance to set up similar centres.
"The onset of psychotic illness is 15 to 24 years of age for males, and 24 to 35 for females.
The males normally start getting mental problems when they start discovering their identity. For women, the illness usually becomes apparent after they got married," he said.
While the fight against mental illness is a hard, and sometimes, an extremely long journey, success stories reinforce the belief that there is hope for many.
At the centre, patients are also involved in rehabilitation programmes. Twice a week, a group of 10 patients makes a traditional cake or dish to sell at HPJ, and those involved in selling the food items get a commission from the sales.
"In our rehabilitation programme, the patients are stable enough to know they need to take medication and need to come in for their follow-ups, so we train them for the working world," Azizul said.
"So far, six patients have 'graduated' and hold jobs as waiters, car washers, and fast food chain workers through our Supported Employment programme," he said.
The goal of the centre is to see all its patients walk out of its doors someday, stable and independent and able to support themselves.
Some patients such as "John" visit to the centre to have someone to talk to. John is a schizophrenia patient enrolled in the rehabilitation programme at the Mental Health Community Centre.
Under Azizul and his team of well-trained staff, John, 30, is said to have made improvements since he started going to the centre last year.
Azizul said the rehabilitation programme was launched in 2008, but due to space constraints in the hospital, group therapies were conducted only once a week.
"Now, with this centre, we can do a lot more. We have a five-day programme when we teach them social skills, conduct group therapy and also teach them how to cook and do simple housework," he said.

The centre, located at Precinct 11 in Putrajaya, was set up as a pilot project with the aim of providing support to the psychiatric departments of government hospitals in the area.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/297933

8th century temple site in Bujang Valley demolished

B Nantha Kumar  | November 29, 2013 

 

PETALING JAYA: A housing developer has demolished several temples sites, including an 8th century heritage site, in Bujang Valley, Kedah, and the authorities are not taking any action to stop the act.
Non-governmental organisation Bujang Valley Study Circle chairman V Nadarajan has urged the Tourism and Culture Ministry to stop the developer from further destroying the area and preserve the site.
Nadarajan said several ancient temples, called Candi, had been demolished in the last few years to make way for development.
He said the developer had now demolished the most famous 8th century temple remnants known as Candi Sungai Batu estate or Bujang Valley site 11.
Nadarajan, who is a lawyer, urged Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz to stop the demolition process.
“The temple in Sungai Batu estate is the most famous tourism spot in Bujang Valley, but now it is gone,” he said.
Nadarajan, who has written a book on the Bujang Valley heritage site, said the authorities had failed to stop the demolition.
“The National Heritage Department, Museum, Kedah state tourism committee and Sungai Petani Municipal Council should have protected the sites but they have turned a blind eye to the demolition work,” he added.
Area is packed with historical artifacts
He said that he was not sure when the Candi Sungai Batu was demolished but believes it was done earlier this week. He only realised it was demolished when he visited the Candi two days ago.
“This entire area is packed with historical artifacts. Most of them are hidden away from our view. This particular temple site is famous with tourists.
“The developer is greedy and willing to pay the fine for the demolishing the temples (and its remnants) because they will make a huge profit from the housing project.
“I am surprised why the Malaysian government is so careless in Bujang Valley when countries like Indonesia and Cambodia are proud of their heritage sites,” said Nadarajan.
The Bujang Valley is an archeological site and excavation had revealed jetty remains, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back 110AD making it the oldest man-made structure to be recorded in South-east Asia.
“It is the most important entry port before Malacca (15th century) and Singapore (19th century). Bujang Valley has been a mid-way hub to Arab nations, India and China,” said Nadarajah.
“We should be proud of the heritage and not give the site to profit-minded individuals,” he added.
Nadarajan urged the ministry to issue a stop-work order to the developer and preserve the remaining sites.

 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/11/29/8th-century-temple-site-in-bujang-valley-demolished/