The Health Ministry finds one in 100 Malaysians suffers from schizophrenia, a mental illness, said Deputy Health Minister Dr Hilmi Yahaya.
 
He said this was worrying as a person with schizophrenia could hurt himself and others. 
 
"More Malaysians are suffering from schizophrenia but they and the people around them do not view the problem seriously and refuse to get appropriate treatment.
 
"The problem should not be treated lightly because if it is not treated, they can injure others, this is very dangerous," Hilmi ( right ) told reporters after opening a function, 'Kem I Want Sihat (KIS)', in conjunction with the 2014 World Mental Health Day yesterday.
 
Schizophrenia is a type of mental illness and its sufferers experience emotional, thought and behavioural disturbances causing them to behave as if they are in their own world. 
 
Meanwhile, he said the ministry targeted to increase the number of psychiatrists from the 300 now to 900 in the next several years to meet the people's needs.
 
He said 50 scholarships were given to doctors keen to become psychiatric specialist each year by the ministry. "Currently, the ratio in Malaysia is one psychiatrist to 150,000 people. 
 
"We should have a ratio of 1:50,000 according to international standards," he added. 
 
- Bernama