IT is said that out of adversity, comes opportunity. Datuk Leslie Lee, the founder and executive chairman of New Bob Group of companies, and his family went through hell when his elder brother suffered mental illness more than 50 years ago. Experiencing immense pain and deep suffering, the teenaged Leslie then purposed to do “something” for those in the same boat as his brother. He tells Buletin Mutiara reporter K.H. ONG of his mission that led to the formation of D’Home Mental Health Association.
WHEN D’Home Mental Health Association was started 15 years ago, it was to fulfil my childhood ambition – to help people.
How that came about was because when I was 15, my brother, who is 10 years older, suffered mental illness.
My parents did not know what to do. They finally sought deities, sinseh, bomoh for help but that ultimately worsened his condition.
He suffered relapses, was in and out not only of Perak Road (Psychiatric Ward) but also Tanjung Rambutan.
The family suffered, we were so lost. We were in pain, we were having sleepless nights and we saw no light at the end of the tunnel.
So, for every family who has someone suffering from mental illness, they are going to experience the same thing because outsiders will not understand.
In fact, some may even laugh or make fun of you.
Subsequently, when my son (now Datuk Seri Dr Lee Ville) took up medicine to be a doctor, I got to know a few psychiatrists.
After knowing the psychiatrists, they prescribed suitable psychotic drugs for my brother that make him manageable.
My brother is 77 years old now. And I have been supporting him for 40 over years. He is still staying with me. I still care for him. That is a promise I made to my mother.
I, fortunately, have an understanding and supportive wife (Neoh Guan Eng). And I also have understanding children who know they are having a person who is not normal in the house. Everyone’s lifestyle is affected.
At the Penang Medical College where my son was studying, I met Dr Leela Ryan. And I told her of my aspiration to set up “something” to help the community.
With her help, we gathered a few people such as Dr A. Bharathy, Dr Lau Kim Kah and Dr Teh Ewe Eow.
In 2004, we formed D’Home. The D’Home was in my office in Gottlieb Road. When we started, I used my staff to support the home.
After about four to five years, my wife suggested getting other people involved. The first person we approached was Dr Mary Quah, the CEO of Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre.
I showed her what we had been doing over the last four or five years. Then, she asked who started D’Home. I said yours sincerely and explained why I started it. Her final question: How much do you want? RM50,000, I replied. Without hesitation, she agreed.
That encouraged me. From Day One, we always emphasise good accountability and transparency. Whatever donations we have received must be all fully accounted for.
All the premises since we started and the services we’ve provided are free of charge.
D’Home later moved to a four-storey bungalow in Bukit Jambul. I feel that I am fortunate that God has blessed me. I have to do some charity because in this area of mental health, the support is hardly any at all.
There is a niche market in commercial terms, there is a great demand. As things progress, I am very committed to the cause. I have been the president of D’Home from the first year. We have an annual election every year.
Now, we have identified that there are a lot of things that we can do. We need a van, we need a lorry driver, we need to employ more full-time staff, and I would like to employ a psychiatrist. We have a psychologist.
Everything we do from Day 1 for the clients is free of charge. I emphasise this: D’Home is set up to help people free of charge. Otherwise, treatment is beyond the reach of the lower income group.
By the way, our family was very poor when I was young. We had hardly any food on the table and I can understand and empathise with people who are poor.
Mental illness strikes not only the poor but also the rich and educated. You can be Malay, Indian, Chinese, young or old.
What we are advocating in the D’Home is firstly prevention and mental health resilience. Prevention is better than cure. Don’t wait until you have mental illness.
We go to schools and colleges to share with the teachers and students. We always tell parents not to emphasise on their children getting 10As, 11As, 12As. There are students who get 12As and when they fail to get 13As, they become mentally ill.
Mental health comes first, your study comes second. Don’t get it in the wrong order.
For those who suffer mental illness, get your mental health back first. Put work aside.
Many family members fail to understand the support and treatment of mental illness. They think when someone sees a doctor for treatment, that’s good enough.
The family support and understanding is as important, if not more important than medicine. Quite often than not, due to lack of understanding by family members, they are the ones that cause the person to be more depressed or create more stress for the relapse.
I never scold my brother nor call him mad. A lot of people say, your brother is very lucky to have you, I say in a way, I am very lucky to have him because through him, that’s what made me set up the home.
Whenever we go to Gurney Paragon Mall a few times a week, I will bring my brother along. Love is very important.
And because of what I do, I find life very satisfying, fulfilling and peaceful.
To me, life is not about chasing after money. So, for about 20 years I have stopped in terms of business pursuit.
The state government has supported us but we still need more support. The state government not only wants the people to live in a clean and green environment but also a healthy lifestyle.
We have very passionate and dedicated people helping to run the association. When I retire as president of D’Home, I hope whoever comes in will follow the foundation that has been set.
To be the president, I have to set the example. Whenever we do any donation drive, like Stress-Free Lifestyle, which was supported by state executive councillor Chong Eng, we raised about RM100,000. My vice-president (Lee Khai) and I each chipped in 25% of the collected sum. This encouraged others, like D’Home adviser Prof Dr Finian M. O’Brian to contribute some money too.
We recently launched our Careline (04-6434422) in conjunction with our 15th anniversary.