KUCHING: The Ministry of Higher Education has been urged to look into addressing the prevalence of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) cases among tertiary students in Malaysia arising from same sex relationships.
Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Women Chief Dr Daroyah Alwi said the ministry should set up a taskforce to study this supposed trend in greater detail and find out the reasons why students were engaged in gay sex as well as their awareness on contraceptive use.
She said medical practitioners stationed in university townships will be able to attest to this trend among students there.
She said this in a statement today following the revelation made by family health practitioner Dr Sakinah Sulong in a forum recently, who had also expressed alarm over the prevalence of such cases.
Dr Daroyah said not only is gay sex against Malaysian law, the resulting health consequences such as the students contracting the HIV virus can have far-reaching consequences.
“Many tertiary students are the hopes of this nation but if they succumb to this sexually-transmitted disease (STD), it will harm not only the students, but this nation which has invested heavily in the students’ future,” she said.
As an interim measure, she said, the ministry should direct university administrators to step up on students’ outreach programmes in their respective campuses to curb this trend.
It is possible that some university students just needed a hearing ear or helping hand to prevent them from falling into despair and delusion that leads them into leading a risky lifestyle.
Dr Daroyah said PBM was of the view that this trend needed to be nipped in the bud.
“If nothing is done to stem the tide, this lifestyle that goes against our local values, will gain wider societal acceptance, especially if it’s prevalent among university students.”
“This will not only result in hefty health costs to this nation but will undermine our social foundations,” she added.
