AIDS is beside you

An interview with Infectious Diseases Physician Dr. Tan Lian Huat
Interviewed by: Lee Chee Siang
Edited: Ng Sock Cheng
Source by: berita ybam

In one sunny afternoon, I brought a small cake to the air-conditioned and comfortable Kuala Lumpur AIDS Support Services Society [KLASS] to conduct an interview with Dr. Tan Lian Huat on prevention and treatment of AIDS. I was feeling light and easy while stepping into the office. Six o’clock in the evening I left heavy-hearted with question marks in my mind: What else do I need to know and what else can I do . . . . .

Do not think that you are safe

Before the interview, my assumption over AIDS is this deadly disease “will never ever happen to me! “ I always thought that the anonymous AIDS patients are hidden and isolated at the corner of the hospital, as long as we do not go near them, we will be safe. AIDS is none of my business anyways!

However, during the interview, what Dr. Tan said awaken me: “Do not think that you are safe! Even if you are not a homosexual, drug addicts or involved in sexual misconduct”Do not think you are safe because your partner and you are practicing a healthy marriage relationship” “Do not think that you are safe there is no one with AIDS around you” What Dr. Tan said has undermined the thinking of “AIDS is none of my business” of many people. He said everyone will have a partner and have a sex life; therefore everyone stands an equal chance to be infected. Your partner might be loyal to you, you may not his or her first partner, or he or she may not be the first partner of their previous friends . . . . No one can be sure who is in absolute health and who is not . . . .

Further-more, the technological invention has enhanced our social life and making a lot more possibilities for inmate relationship. Young people have the sexual experience at an early stage nowadays. Unless you are well aware of the disease, you might be already at risk. Moreover, the disease may manifest for several years only after the initial infection. In 1986, the first AIDS case was discovered in Malaysia. 20 years later, we have 60,000 cases! If we compare the statistics of 2002 to 2001, the infected women have grown as much as 35%! What does the figure tell us?

This is alarming, said Dr. Tan. It tells is that AIDS no longer associated merely with the groups most affected like drug addicts or sex workers but have spread to the community. If one lacks of the right awareness, one may be infected even though he or she is living “normally”.

AIDS not only affected patient

Similar to high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer, AIDS patient is the first who get affected and then followed by their family members. Unlike other diseases, AIDS not only cause physical pain and mental suffering to the patient and the family, the biggest sorrow is the fear of being “ostracized” by the society!

The common response towards AIDS patient are: those who use the services of sex workers, being drug addicts or enduring physical pain preparing for an early death, the patients have to face the moral criticisms by the society and even the fear of losing their jobs! The most painful part is to face the queries and isolation from the people around them! Their families need to endure the same sorrow: discrimination and ostracism from the society, the risk of being affected, a betrayed husband who broke the heart of the wife, the ruin of a respectful father in front of his children, and the miserable parents who have to face with criticisms of relatives. . . .

As such, when the fear of being discriminated, stigmatised and ostracised arose, most patients chose to remain anonymous so that their position in the society is protected. But, it is the concealment that causes the bigger damages: the continued unsafe sexual relationship between the couple may cause another infection without early detection; the fear of being discovered causes one to tell more lies; more excuses to cover the frequent visits to the physician; and the fear of being discovered limits one’s chance of getting more and better treatments. Whether revealed or not, the patients seem to be at the losing end. They have lost the purpose of life and constantly feel lonely.

Your respect will help them live a new life

In Malaysia, especially the Chinese community, support and assistance leave much to be desired. The government only provides medical treatment and subsidy but are doing minimally in helping to reconstruct the confidence of the patients and their families. So do the community. Is there anything we can do under such undesirable condition? Even a simple care and respect can encourage them to live on, said Dr. Tan.

And to respect, we must understand first. AIDS patients choose to disguise themselves due to the fear of discrimination. And discrimination comes from misunderstanding. Only when the public is well-informed on this disease then will look at it in a positive way, and realise that AIDS is not synonymous to drug addicts or homosexuals. Only with this understanding, the public should be aware that everyone stands an equal chance to be infected. Knowing this, we should provide support and loving care to them like any other patients without imposing any moral criticism. Let’s treat them as any other patients, and that’s all they want.

Sex education, the crucial point in AIDS prevention and treatment

At the moment, the “Cocktail therapy” or highly active antiretroviral therapy is the effective way to treat AIDS. However the crucial point should be on sex education. Dr. Tan definition on sex education is: It is not simply the biology class to know about our bodies or the relationship between the genders, the ultimate concern in sexual education is to let ones to manage their emotions in a proper way. Due to the lack of such education, most people, regardless of whether teenager, adults or the aged, do not protect themselves properly during sexual relationship and this increase their exposure to AIDS. However, although the implementation of sex education is rather slow in the country, we are glad that government has started to draft the syllabus for sex education in recent years will be taught at the lower secondary school.