Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Agence France Presse (12.23.08) - Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Romen Bose
Last week, Deputy Premier Najib Razak announced that all Muslim couples would be required to undergo HIV testing before they wed, as is already the case in certain states. He added that the measure should be expanded on a voluntary basis for non-Muslim couples.
On Monday, a senior opposition leader went further, saying people infected with HIV should not be allowed to marry or have children. "I think it is a gross error to allow somebody very sick like that, an HIV carrier, to marry," said Mohammad Nizar of the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. "If there's any breeding - sorry for having to use that word - the embryo will also carry the same virus. It's very unjust to the child," he told the New Straits Times newspaper.
"These comments and proposals show there is a lack of education about the latest developments in treating HIV/AIDS, "said Adeeba Kamarulzaman, president of the Malaysian AIDS Council. "HIV-infected persons should be allowed to marry and have safe sex."
Government policies would do better to reflect the changing face of HIV/AIDS in Malaysia, argued Tricia Yeoh, an analyst who focuses on social-political issues. "Medical science has progressed, but the perception of politicians and many people in Malaysian of HIV remains fixed to the images of promiscuity and death from AIDS as it was in the 1980s," said Yeoh. "Today, the infection is no longer treated as a social vice, but more as a disease which can be treated."
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