What a schizophrenic week it was for Malaysia! On the one hand, majority of its people had a memorable experience following the XVI Commonwealth Games either via the television or first hand from the various venues.
Many also worked extremely hard to ensure the success of the Games. They included the organisers, volunteers, police, school children, government servants, media personnel, bus and taxi drivers, food peddlers, and hundreds of thousands of spectators.
The efforts were also aimed at giving assistance to the competitors, guests and spectators of the Games, who have come from near and far to celebrate with Malaysians this momentous occasion. Among the many visitors to Malaysia were kings and queens, princes and princesses, heads of governments and leaders of international sporting organizations.
The atmosphere of the whole country was simply electrifying. By sheer divine intervention, a nation engulfed in the haze a year ago was basking in glorious sunshine. You could not miss the joyous mood of everyone who was lucky enough to be at the game venues to watch live the actions of some of the best athletes in the world. They were there too to cherish the ecstasy of success and empathise the agony of defeat of the indomitable competitors.
The old and the young were equally entertained. The 11-day programme also provided great family outing opportunities for Malaysians. And many did not give it a miss. Never before in the history of the nation, had so many been involved in a single activity. Everyone it seemed, was having a great fun.
By the will of the Almighty too, there was not a single untoward incidence which threatened to jeopardise the smooth running of the tournament. Despite the enormity of the occasion, in terms of the number of both participants and events, the organisers were not timorous.
Through the untiring effort of these lovely Malaysians, the XVI Commonwealth Games had been proclaimed a huge success by both local and foreign commentators. It had put Malaysia in the world sporting arena, but this time at a much higher pedestal.
The Malaysian contingent is only one of the four participating teams which managed to make a double-digit gold haul. It is a testimony of the tenacity and determination of the local athletes, as reflected in the spirit of “Malaysia Boleh”.
This small nation of about 20 million people of various races, culture s and religions had once again shown the world that with tolerance, harmony and self-discipline, anything can be achieved, God willing. Only the sky is the limit.
By the end of this historical event, praises were being heaped upon Malaysians from all quarters. They were all in superlatives. “The best Commonwealth Games ever”, “The warmest hospitality”, “The friendliest host nation”, “World-standard sporting facilities”, “The most marvelous spectators”.
Malaysian should accept these good words with humble hearts. Our thanks and gratitude to the Almighty for giving us the wisdom, strength and courage to carry out the second largest sporting event in the world.
That unfortunately, was not the end of the story of the week that was. A very small number of Malaysians decided to simultaneously show the ugly side of their characters. They decided to take to the streets issues that should be aptly settled via the normal legal channel.
With the unleashing of their tantrums, they undid the many good things that had been done through the sweat and tears of their fellow citizens. In the current economic downturn where peace and stability are indispensable tools to woo foreign investors and induce a favourable business climate, their actions were definitely destructive.
As these troubles were smack of religious undertone, it did have a negative bearing on the untiring effort of the numerous Islamic-based organisations in trying to dismiss the stereotyping of Islam as a religion of violence and intolerance.
Ironically, the unprecedented show of civil disobedience actually contradicted with the teachings of Islam. Verse 20 of Chapter 16 of the Quran reads, “Allah commands justice, the doing of good, the liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds and injustice, and rebellion. He instructs you so that you may receive admonition.”
Thus, in trying to deal with the sometimes schismatic nature of the Malaysian society, the Ministry of Health unveiled earlier this month the National Mental Health Policy. Concomitantly, September has been designated the “Mental Health Month”.
The brain is an organ of the body. It is very complex. But out of this emerges an even more complex entity, the mind. As the mind inarguably resides in the brain, the worthy go al of the National Mental Health Policy is to protect this remarkable organ when it is healthy and to heal it when it is ill.
It is estimated that currently more than 10% of Malaysians suffer from one type of mental illness or another. The number appears staggering. Actually, according to contemporary definition, mental disorders are not restricted to madness and lunacy only.
Problems such as stress, personality disorders and phobia, for example, if not properly managed can worsen and tum into mental illness, which varies from the mildest such as insomnia, to the most severe like depression and schizophrenia.
An editorial a few years ago in a prestigious science journal Nature began, “Schizophrenia is perhaps the worst disease affecting mankind” . This disease strikes people in late adolescence and early adulthood and often never goes away.
One of the many symptoms of schizophrenia is delusions, which are false ideas that patient passionately insists and believes are true. The patients has the unshakable belief that others are actively planning to harm him. A delusional patient may believe the authority is tapping his phone, that people from Mars are communicating with him, or someone is poisoning his food.
The other symptom is thought disorder, involving a number of marked abnormalities in mental processes. Most of the time, the patient talks without making any sense. These symptoms are parts of abnormal affect known as psychotic symptoms or psychoses. Although schizophrenia may seem romantic and interesting to some philosophers and dreamers, it is plainly awful to its victims.
What causes schizophrenia? There is now growing evidence that the illness is partly hereditary. It involves abnormal development of the brain and loss of brain cells. Many studies using specialised brain scanning tools have shown that schizophrenics basically have less brain tissue than normal people.
The prevalence of schizophrenia in this country is about 1 % of the population. Nevertheless, the 200,000 or so schizophrenics in Malaysia should not despair. Although it is not easy to diagnose the disease, the sooner it is detected, the better. There are drugs available to alleviate and maybe cure it altogether.
The same is true with other mental illnesses like mania and depression. Early detection can help minimise the suffering of the patient, and lessen the burden of those looking after him. Thanks to research and development in the field of brain science, there are now numerous medicines available to treat these disorders. True to the saying of Prophet Muhammad, “There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created it treatment. ”
The National Mental Health Policy also advocates the prevention of incidences of mental illness. Muslims can very well benefit from the teachings of Islam in this area. They are urged to calm their minds by ways of fasting, praying and dhikrullah or the remembrance of Allah. The maintenance of a healthy mind is a prerequisite to becoming a steadfast believer.