Politics 101 Malaysia

The following is a safe sex campaign video by the Ministry of Health, starring the then Minister of Health Chua Soi Lek.

The message is if you have unprotected sex with your casual sex partner, you are not just having sex with her but with all the men she has slept with.

Be wise, be safe. Safe sex is of paramount importance — even with a personal friend.

by By Robin Brant, BC News, Kuala Lumpur.

Dozens of people with leprosy in Malaysia have teamed up with students to try to save a decades-old settlement.

Residents of the Sungai Buloh settlement, in a lush valley on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, are being forced out of their homes and into new accommodation, to make way for the expansion of a neighbouring university.

Developers were given permission to build on the site where leprosy has been treated for almost 80 years.

The 39 people fear that the rest of the site will be built over unless the government agrees to protect it.

Spread over 600 acres, most of the buildings on the settlement are now dilapidated. ”Continued”

Illnesses related to mental health are like time bombs that could explode anytime given that 20% of Malaysians suffer from chronic emotional stress, Berita Minggu reported.

The above figure is disputed. Worse case scenerio is 20% of us encounters some form of mental health issues in our lifetime.

This could range from clinical depression to postnatal depression to Schizophrenia.

Saying 20% “suffer from chronic emotional stress” is itself a mental issue.

University Malaya Medical Psychology Department head Prof Dr Mohamad Hussain Habil said that from the number, only 0.5% received treatment, as many feared being labelled mad, and some refused to seek treatment due to financial problems. ”Continued”

I am really disappointed with the approach National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Chairman Lee Lam Thye is taking on improving mental health services in his World Mental Health Day message today.

He said that besides training more pshychiatrists and psychologists in hospitals and clinic, the Health Ministry could could lay the infrastructure by “providing more psychiatric units and hospital beds”.

He went on to say it is the right time for all Malaysians to be conscious of the importance of mental health and help to create greater awareness of mental health issues.

What he has failed to say is that not all mental health patients are amoks and a large majority of mental health patients have a better chance of recovery through community-based programmes and support from friends and family.

Lam Thye also failed to raise, perhaps, the most important point, and that is there must be a year-round programme to educate the public that they must overcome the wrong and unkind stigma being cast on mental health patients. ”Continued”

By Miranda Hitti, WebMD Medical News

Liberals and conservatives may handle mental conflict differently, according to new research on the brain.

The finding comes from researchers including David Amodio, PhD, a research scientist in New York University’s psychology department. They scanned the brains of 43 adults during a conflict test.

As part of a confidential personality survey, participants rated their political orientation on a scale ranging from -5 (for extremely liberal) to +5 (for extremely conservative).

After finishing the survey, they donned stretchy caps studded with electrodes to scan their brains during the conflict test. ”Continued”

You needn’t look further than yesterday’s standoff between pig farmers and enforcement authorities in several pig farms in Malacca to realise how much the Islamisation process has spooked the non-Muslims, especially the Chinese.

Primarily because the farmers are Chinese and the complainants and enforcement officers are largely Muslims, the MCA and DAP are quick to plant themselves in the frontline of the swine war.

I have more sympathy for the downstream villagers and river users than for the effected farmers, most of whom have been served long ago with legal notices to comply but have repeatedly ignored them.

We have to wonder if Malacca’s eco system can withstand the extra 100,000 heads of porkers and the waste they dispose hourly. ”Continued”

A study by doctors has concluded that epilepsy can be induced by playing mahjong.

The findings were based on 23 cases of people who had suffered mahjong-induced seizures.

The report’s four authors, from Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital, said the best prevention - and cure - was to avoid playing mahjong.

The study led the doctors to define mahjong epilepsy as a unique syndrome.

Classic case of the Cantonese mahjong jargon sik jau woo (a foul move)?

Remember the Selangor MB once boasted the state was more advanced than some western nations?

Before he goes on another round of mirror kissing, he better ask himself why Selangor has one of the highest number of dengue cases.

First world state with third world disease. Ouch.

Singapore’s Muslims should be treated as willing organ donors when they die, the country’s Islamic authority says.

The ruling will remove their exemption from a law allowing doctors to remove the heart, kidneys or liver of a body.

As with all other Singaporeans, Muslims will be able to opt out of the donation scheme while they are alive.

The Health Ministry welcomed the move, but said the rule change would not come into effect until the donation law had been altered to include Muslims.

“It is a very positive development that will significantly enhance the access of Muslims with organ failure to donated organs,” a spokeswoman told Singapore’s Straits Times. ”Continued”