Are Malaysians Afflicted with Denial Syndrome or Stockholm Syndrome?

A few months ago there was a feature stating that the mental health of Malaysians is poor with about 10% affected by some mental problem.

Perhaps one reason could be the lack of mental health experts and not many doctors want to become shrinks as most Malaysians only get psychiatric help after they suffer a nervous breakdown.

Society as a whole prefers not to know about “nut cases” and only hope they keep them locked up in Tanjong Rambutan.

As society becomes more fragmented with less family support and the stress of urban life it is not surprising that we have more burnout and mental health problems.

So the vehement outburst of so many against LKY’s comments may be attributed to two possible conditions. We are suffering from “Denial Syndrome” or “Stockholm Syndrome” or a combination of both.

After more than 30 years of NEP sapping the life of the population, many leaders still cannot admit that the policies have been hijacked for the benefit of only a few and many tens of thousands still barely eke out a living.

These people have a strong Denial Sydrome and cannot admit that many grave mistakes have been made and citizens have been deprived of a just and equitable implementation of policies.

The majority of the population suffers from Stockholm Syndrome
as they have been held ransom by oppressive laws for so many years and deprived of even simple democratic practices like local government elections.

Like kidnapped victims, they have gotten used to electoral abuse, gerrymandering and the absence of a government with integrity. Even when they are given the chance to escape by voting in a new government they choose the status quo.

So even when LKY broadcasts that we are being marginalized many prefer to simply ignore the warning.

It is a definite wake-up call. If we choose to ignore it, the next time we will discover that the ship of our nation has gone over the falls.