SULASTRI Ariffin has been around the world. Manager of the mak nyah (trans women) programme at PT Foundation, she has participated and spoken at conferences on HIV and sexuality in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Switzerland. She has even met Richard Gere — twice. But in her 15 [...]

KUALA LUMPUR, 19 March 2009: An average of one Aids death and three HIV infections are recorded daily in the country, the Dewan Rakyat was told today. Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abd Latif Ahmad said the figure was based on the number of HIV infections, totalling 80,000 cases a year. He said there was [...]

PETALING JAYA, 10 Feb 2009: A significant moment in Malaysia’s human rights journey will take place tomorrow, but may be unfortunately eclipsed by the ongoing political turmoil in Perak. For the first time, Malaysia’s human rights record will undergo peer review at the United Nations in Geneva through a process called the Universal Periodic Review [...]

IPOH, 22 Dec 2008: Gerakan Deputy President Datuk Chang Ko Youn today hit out at the suggestion by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin yesterday that people with HIV must never be allowed to marry and should instead be quarantined for treatment. Describing the idea as primitive, Chang said such an idea had [...]

PEKAN, 20 Dec 2008: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government will study whether the non-Muslims can be required to undergo HIV screening before they get married to prevent the spread of the disease. He said that for the Muslims, HIV screenings were compulsory as part of the premarital course while the [...]

1,000 crosses put up by World Concern, USA, in support of World AIDS Day (© Andrew Conn / sxc.hu) STARTING from 2009, Muslim couples intending to marry must undergo mandatory screening for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). We don’t know how this became official, but it now is, with the cabinet’s approval. Deputy Prime Minister [...]