This paper describes a rehabilitation programme for male chronic mental patients, with the aim of reintegrating them into the community. Since in Malaysia about 50% of the work force are stilling earning their living in the agricultural sector, the programme concentrates on training in farming and animal rearing. Since the patients are very institutionalised, resocialisation training is also provided that involves learning to communicate, to mix with others, to know how to use money, to make one's own demands, and to cope with more personal freedom. When a patient is trained well enough to be employed outside, a job is found for him that provides food, lodging and payment. After discharge from the hospital, he is regularly followed up by the social worker.
Malaysia's workforce presently includes 13% foreigners most coming from the neighboring ASEAN-countries. No data of the prevalence of psychiatric disorders amongst this population is currently available.
Remarkable improvements in economic conditions and a considerable upgrade in the quality of life have been observed in many parts of Asia during the past several decades. At the same time, many mental health challenges face the people of Asia. Various social mental health indexes are reviewed here, with available data from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and other Asian societies. The data are compared with data from the United States, Australia in the Pacific Rim, and some other Western countries to examine patterns of similarity or difference between East and West in the process of modernization. Common trends in mental health issues associated with rapid sociocultural change observed in different Asian societies are discussed, as well as the relative shortage of mental health personnel available in many Asian societies. It is emphasized that, in addition to expanding psychiatric services, there is an even more urgent need to promote mental health knowledge and concern through education in the general population. Mental health needs to be cultivated and maintained by social forces and cultural strengths. It is stressed that there is a challenge for Asian people to advance mental health beyond economic development in the 21st century.