What has puzzled many in recent years is that some relatively wealthy, religious, cultured and educated persons in Malaysia are also capable of physical and sexual violence, even against members of their families or households.

In the second of a three-part series, psychologist Dr Edward Chan explains that a high intelligence quotient (IQ) may not necessarily be accompanied by equally high emotional quotient (EQ), and that the discrepancy between high IQ and low EQ could be psychologically destabilising.

Malaysiakini: In general, Malaysians seem to be quite wealthy, religious, cultured and educated but these elements of civilisation still seem to have failed in holding some of them back from committing physical violence. The torture of domestic maids, for example, is often reportedly committed by relatively wealthy, religious, cultured and educated persons. Why?

Chan: Although Malaysians seem to be quite wealthy, religious, cultured and educated, these elements of civilisation still seem to have failed in holding some of them back from committing physical violence because they might have a high IQ but lack an appropriate EQ. They are not able to manage their emotions well.

Incidents of sexual violence have also increased in Malaysia in recent years. There is a popular school of thought that it has to do with the uncontrollable outburst of normal sexual desire that has been long suppressed due to religious dogma and excessively stringent moral codes of social behaviour in non-Western societies. Is this true?

It is possible but religious dogma cannot be blamed completely. Suppression leading to explosion or outburst of violence could be learnt from media influence. Suppression also causes people to wonder and this leads to unhealthy exploration of feelings. Although suppression could cause sexual violence, it is not the sole contributor to the situation. It is important for people to have access to healthy expression of emotions, for example to demonstrate affection in public. Too much censorship of movies may not be good because a certain context that will help support a healthy relationship may be deleted.

It is often pointed out that in Western countries like the United States, France or Sweden - whose people generally adopt a more liberal attitude toward sexual intercourse among consenting adults - there are fewer incidents of sexual violence. Is it true?

It may be true because those in Western countries have a relaxed attitude (towards) healthy relationships. But it does not mean that one should necessarily constrain expressions of a sexual relationship...these should emphasise the importance of good and healthy relationship.

Incest and sexual violence against children have always been severely condemned and proscribed all over the world since time immemorial, yet these incidents still happen. Why? How can this be prevented?

It is because exploitation of the Internet has made access easier for providers and consumers to get pornography especially by adults who sexually abuse children. Perpetrators themselves may have been victims of abuse who have not yet overcome or healed properly from their unresolved past experience. They do not enjoy or are incapable of enjoying a healthy relationship with others. They choose to be abusers, so that their sexual desires can be satisfied.

Other than that, lack of protection for these abused children is also one of the reasons why such incidents still occur. To overcome this problem, we can organise relationship enrichment programmes or personal development programmes and psychotherapy.

In urban settings, people are always in a rush, and are reactive or lonely. How does this condition contribute to individuals' psychological problems? How can they improve their state of mind?

(Such people) tend to be depressed and stressed in their relationship with others. People should be more self-aware because they cannot take loneliness and cannot stand on their own. However, over-reliance will also cause psychological problems.

People should learn to care for themselves, spend quality time with themselves and develop personal growth to improve their state of mind. They can also can seek psychotherapy to treat psychological problems.

As a result of widespread use of personal computers for works and study, and availability of television, VCDs and DVDs for personalised entertainment, people seem to be losing their interest and skills in socialising and communicating with even family-members and colleagues. How has this tendency contributed to changes in their psychological make-up?

This tendency has contributed to a decrease in human interaction. As life gets busier and people attend to their own schedules, there is hardly time for human interaction and socialising. To solve this problem, we need to emphasise family and couple relationships. People do not relate to one another well when they only think of their own busy life. Tthey should attend family enrichment programmes and undergo family therapy to learn techniques and skills to relate to one another and build healthy relationships.

Many foreigners have observed that, in general, Malaysians often lack a sense of humor and are very tense or serious in inter-personal contacts and communications, always on the lookout for threats against personal self-esteem, dignity and honour. Is it true? If so, why? Is there a way to make Malaysians more self-confident, relaxed and humorous?

It is hard to generalise because not all Malaysians are like this. Socialising with others and making time to relax and reflect on one's own life could improve the quality of life of Malaysians. Those who need further assistance could get help from a psychotherapist. In psychotherapy, people can trace back their early childhood trauma and attempt to overcome this.


Three-part series

Exploring the psychology of violence
Why do 'normal' persons turn violent?
Not only mad people need a shrink