Puan Anita Abu Bakar is the Founder and President of the Mental Illness Awareness & Support Association (MIASA). She is a strong and known advocate for Mental Health and social issues in Malaysia and internationally. She initiated the first Peer-led Mental Health Advocacy and Support Group in Malaysia. As Anita was born and raised overseas, she subsequently pursued her tertiary education at Tulsa University, Oklahoma in the United States. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, with a minor in Management Information Systems. Upon her return to Malaysia, Anita pursued a career path as an Investment banker, and worked in the corporate field for over 10 years. She also holds an MBA in Islamic Banking and Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). Through MIASA, Anita champions the recovery model and the human-rights based approach simultaneously striving for non-coercive treatments and deinstitutionalization. In her passion in shaping the Mental Health Ecosystem towards a recovery model approach, she established the ‘The Orchid Clubhouse’, Malaysia’s first Mental Health Crisis management and Activity Centre which is Peer-led and Peer-run. Anita also initiated the National Advocacy for Mental Health Association (NAMhA) in 2021 and was appointed as the Chairperson for NAMH, the first peer-based mental health alliance in Malaysia. Inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), this Alliance aspires to provide a constructive platform for a louder voice to promote, protect and ensure the rights of PWDs and work towards the Inclusion of mental health peers in various aspects of life including education, employment, housing, social protection and health, home and family and more. The various support services and activities that Puan Anita help initiate include MIASA’s 24/7 Crisis Helpline (120 Crisis Team members are mobile across the nation), conducting home visits, Peer Support, Family Support, Circle Time, Spiritual Therapy, Art Therapy, Expressive Dance Therapy, Drama and Speech classes, Supported Employment programme, Mental Health programme on the Radio, Food Baskets for the B40 groups and homeless folks, volunteering opportunities and more.