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S011-4

Alcoholism in Malaysian Population and Its Cultural Beleifs

Sam John Reuben

University of Kuala Lumpur Medical college and Hospital, Malaysia

Background/Objective: Malaysia is a multi-racial country with an estimated population of 26
million people in 2006. The country is made up of more than 60% of Malays, most of which are
Muslims who therefore typically do not consume alcohol on religious grounds

Method: The adult literacy rate is total 80 per cent: male – 89 per cent and female – 72 per cent.
Public expenditure on health is 1.3 per cent of the GDP. There are two main breweries, which are
located in or near the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

Result: Of all the legal and illegal drugs, alcohol is by far the most widely used by teenagers, and
according to a national survey many are regularly drinking to excess.Indians are over-represented in
this sub-population, but studies also reveal substantial drinking problems among Chinese and Malays.
Government officials categorize alcohol as an Indian problem. Alcoholism in Malaysia is as serious a
problem as smoking. Often the alcohol problem has been sidelined as merely the “samsu problem of
the poor Indians”. Samsu, beer and toddy are the most commonly consumed alcoholic drinks

Conclusion: A unique situation in Asian population, low income, low general awareness, negligible
medical insurance, disproportionate quality of available medical services, relatively high cost of
psychological services and reasonable cost of high quality medication prompts a situation where
pharmacological agents pay an important role along with some psychosocial interventions.