Set up task force to study HIV prevalence among tertiary students: PBM leader

 

The Higher Education Ministry should set up a task force to study the prevalence of HIV cases among tertiary students in the country, supposedly stemming from same-sex relationships.

Saying this, Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Women’s Wing chief Daroyah Alwi said the ministry should also instruct universities to conduct student outreach programmes on their respective campuses to curb this trend.

“The ministry’s task force should study this supposed trend in greater detail and find out the reasons why students were engaged in gay sex, as well as their awareness of contraceptive use.

“Not only is gay sex against Malaysian law, the resulting health consequences, such as students contracting the HIV virus, can have far-reaching effects. Many tertiary students are the hope of this nation, but if they succumb to this sexually-transmitted disease, it will not only harm the students, but this nation which has invested heavily in the student’s future,” she said in a statement today.

Daroyah (above), who is also Sementa assemblyperson, was responding to the revelation by family health practitioner Dr Sakinah Sulong that the majority of HIV patients who caught the disease through same-sex relationships are from tertiary education levels.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that out of 100 HIV patients, the majority are youths who caught the virus from same-sex intercourse.

“What is more worrying is that most of them are young students from higher education institutes,” Sinar Harian quoted Sakinah telling a forum yesterday.

Elaborating, Daroyah said the universities concerned should lend a listening ear and helping hand to prevent their students from falling into despair and “delusion” that leads them into leading a risky lifestyle.

“PBM is of the view that this trend needs to be nipped in the bud. If nothing is done to stem this tide, this lifestyle that goes against our local values will gain wide societal acceptance, especially if it’s prevalent among university students.

“This will not only result in hefty health costs to this nation but will also undermine our social foundations,” said Daroyah. - Mkini