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Li Bihui / Guest Writer
“Unlike some foreign newspapers, the media here in Singapore has not gone for aggressive journalism; they have not gone for aggressive campaigning. They have taken the position that they will investigate thoroughly before they publish.” – Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communication and Arts
Recently, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan replied to a question in parliament about the rates of mental illness in Singapore compared to other countries, and he said:
“The most recent global survey was made by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2004. WHO classified mental illnesses under two broad groupings: anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder; and mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder and depression.”
“Based on this WHO study, the prevalence in Singapore is generally lower or comparable to other developed countries. For example, the rates for anxiety were 18.2% in the United States, 12% in France, 5.3% in Japan, and 3.4% in Singapore. As for depression, the prevalence rates were 9.6% in the US, 8.5% in France, 5.6% in Singapore, and 3.1% in Japan.”
The WHO survey mentioned by Mr Khaw in his reply to parliament is actually the World Mental Health Survey (WMHS) 2004. Although Mr Khaw cited this survey in parliament in comparing the prevalence of mental illness in Singapore with other countries, surprisingly, Singapore is not one of the countries mentioned in the WHO WMHS. When queried on this, Ministry of Health replied that while the figures for other countries were indeed from the WMHS 2004, the figures for Singapore were from a study conducted by the IMH.
With the fact being that WMHS says nothing about the prevalence of mental illness in Singapore relative to other developed countries, the question remains, “did the Health Minister mislead parliament into thinking that all the figures cited, where from the survey?”
What makes it worse is that mainstream media (MSM) like Channel News Asia and The Straits Times did not bother to check the sources for the Health Minister’s figures. They simply repeated the press release almost verbatim. Is this what the Minister for Information, Communication and Arts meant when he said that the MSM “will investigate thoroughly before they publish”?
The question of honesty aside, the value of comparing figures retrieved from different surveys is also highly questionable. The central World Mental Health staff put many protocols in place to ensure that results from the survey could in fact be compared cross-nationally. They trained bilingual supervisors in each country. Consistent interviewer training documents and procedures are used across surveys. The WHO translation protocol was used to translate instruments and training materials.
Standardised descriptions of the goals and procedures of the study, data uses and protection and the rights of respondents were provided in both written and verbal form to all pre-designated respondents before obtaining verbal informed consent for participation in the survey. Quality control protocols were standardised across countries to check on interviewer accuracy and to specify data cleaning and coding procedures.
Did the IMH survey place the same protocols in its own survey? Were the questions in the survey consistent with those in WMHS? Were the supervisors and interviewers sufficiently trained? Did the population sample picked by IMH differ from the population sample of WMHS? What quality controls were used in IMH’s survey?
Such protocols are essential to ensure that any differences that are found between countries in the survey are not mere artefacts of the different ways in which the survey was carried out, and its data evaluated, in each country. By comparing IMH’s findings directly to the WHO’s findings, MOH is ignoring the vast amount of care put in by WHO in trying to eliminate such artefacts.
The conclusion that MOH draws about Singapore’s supposedly lower prevalence of mental illness could be completely unwarranted measured by standard scientific procedures and survey protocols.
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Bihui is a postgraduate student in the history and philosophy of science. She likes sources of information to be clearly cited and credited.
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Read also: Not Mainstream Media, not New Media, then who?
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Is this the first in the 50 yrs, of messing with stats, rankings, reports and what nots? If not for the internet, LiBihui’s writing will never see the light, and we will never get to know about it. Do we not have the right to doubt or distrust the Govt?
If I accept Khaw’s report, my question to him will be what will the Health Ministry be doing since everything is fine? Is there any plan to improve mental health in Spore or is he saying there is NO NEED since we are ranked amongst the lowest in the problem. If there is no need, is there any plan to prevent any deterioration of the problem? Is there any plan to protect the patient and public’s safety with respect to mental illness?
Dear Gemami #47:
Four Parties were involved; Minister Khaw, Minister Lui and their MOUTHPIECES Straits Times and Channel News Asia.
The Self-proclaimed religious(Buddhist), the ‘better respected politician’ Minister Khaw mentioned a World Mental Health Survey(WMHS)2004, done by the World Health Organization, which did not include Singapore, to answer a question about the rates of mental illness in Singapore compared to other countries.
According to this Article by Li Bihui, Minister Khaw engrafted a IMH(Institue Of Mental Health) obtained figure of 5.6% into the WMHS 2004(which did not include Singapore) as the Answer in the Parliament Meeting. The MSMs; Straits Times and Channel News Asia, then published the Answer in their News Reports without verifying the Authencity of Minister Khaw’s Answer to the Parliament Query. Then came the Acting Minister Lui who pronounced that their MSMs were ‘thorough’ in investigating reports before publishing them. May i take it that he meant that his MSMs verify all facts before publihing them.
I connected the Piety to Religion(self-claimed) of Minister Khaw and the Self Confident and Self Righteous Acting Minister Lui as impeccable and unfailing leaders. And therefore, the MSMs and those Singaporeans who found, believed and respected the Ministers should not have doubted the integrities of them. What i was implying is that since the MSMs and some Singaporeans have such undying trust in the Ministers, causing them(amongst the parliamentarians and the MSMs) not to feel the neccessities to verify the correctness(political and factual) and truth of what came out of their (horses) mouths. That feeling of ‘not neccessary to check(verify) the facts was the cause of the Oversight that i wrote.
Some Singaporeans that i have spoken to are still very trusting of our leaders, very much liked some older folks who rever MM Lee to the extent that the Latter can never be wrong or will forever a wiseman be, faultless. Such blind faith and trust are detected from time to time in the Blogosphere including comments made in TOC.
I doubt Singaporeans are all as discerning when it comes to ascertaining the integrities and respectabilities of our leaders, there are plenty of idolizing and blind faiths prevailing in the citizenry. Me said it before and will repeat the calling here again, let us pay our respects to anyone(regardless of the stature) after the person has no more capacity to do any evil, anyone kicking and breathing could do wrong anytime or be foolish for a moment. AND THERE ARE OTHERS WHOSE EVILS ARE ONLY DISCOVERED LONG AFTER THEY STOP BREATHING.
Let me say i meant it not just tongue-in-cheek, i did a digging too.
patriot
An apology is needed from Khaw. Years ago they grilled Chee in Parliament over one mistake, and since then labeled him as a liar, cheat. MIW is not so white afterall.
And you called those REPORTERS in MSM journalist? They only regurgitate, lock stocks and barrels. Superfiicial, shallow, stepping over one another to come out with the next piece to please the masters.
For me, Trust ended with the mini bon bons.
Trust has to be earned just like you cannot demand people to respect you or not to curse you in their minds or behind you or spit on your grapes.
Hi Patriot,
Excellently commented @ 53! I understood your comments in #23 & #24. They were meant to cut both ways too.
It is THE problem with our Singapore society. We have come to a point where we uphold the wisdom of people in authority without ever questioning them and the decisions they make.
We become unthinking citizens, constantly echoing their voices without truly understanding their meanings, especially the hidden ones. We become mouthpieces without realizing it.
The one most guilty is our MSM. Unfortunately, it is also the one with the strongest influence, so much so that each and every Singaporean has now become one big walking, talking and living MSM.
There is much work left for the few of us to break this norm.
Hi Gemami:
your rejoinder at #57 provides me much palliation and encouragement. The Reinforcement and the Clearer Deciphering from Your Comment#57 bring much joy and meaning for me to be a netizen.
“There is much work left for the few of us to break this norm”. Nothing can be more true than this conclusion of yours’. If only we have been less blind a follower, we would not have been led by the noses and be misled to where we are today.
Yes, admittedly it is not easy to see through the schemers of things, especially those exercise by professionals with authorities in high offices, however, we must ask ourselves should we not be objective. Blind faiths are like religiosity to an imagined perfect being which none exists. Neither should we be cowed into blind submissions or be forced to believe propaganda thrown at us from our leaders.
Gemami:
I must say that i have good companies in many of You in Cyberspace and You are one that i find most eloquent and your ability to reason truly admirable. Thank You much for the interactions.
From: Yourstruly patriot
Hi Patriot,
Thanks for the further reinforcement and the compliments too. The feeling is mutual and it is always a pleasure to share thoughts with you.
What Khaw said in Parliament is inconsistent with the increasing applications by the public prosecutors and complied with by our judges to commit accused to the Institute of Mental Health for weeks at a time unless the accused plead guilty even for minor charges.
Remember that Boon Suan Ban is being held at IMH for LIFE ( President’s pleasure) even though Boon had not been shown to have committed ANY crime. His defence in a criminal defamation charge against ex=CJ had been ordered SEALED.
The guy who torched MP Seng Han Tong is believed to be in IMH………and so is the teenager who threw a chair against a door at an MPS.
Last week the ST carried a report that a taxi driver who was ordered remanded at IMH had the sub-Court order discharged by the High Court, but he faced contempt of court proceedings, even though the sub-court judge had not even thought about accused being in contempt.
So in so far as what Khaw had said, the reality might be different………..at least from the point of view of the public prosecutor.
Getting back to the credibility of our MSM or the lack of it, once again, people should be reminded of what then Legislative Assemblyman Lee Kuan Yew had talked about the Press SINGING THE PRAISES of the (ABSOLOUTE) power in control of the govt. despite of the FACTS. (Perhaps someone who has the text of what Mr Lee had said then, could post it here for those who might not have read to acquaint themselves with reality)
People should get REAL about the role of the MSM……………which is being the MOUTHPIECE of the
Well, if anybody wants me give an example of groupthink and learning disability….i think i know what to say